Covid-19 Pandemic

It’s been a very long road for all of us, and this farm is no exception. I haven’t been on in a while. Honestly, I’m just like everybody else. Some days I’m pretty productive, some days, I can barely get the basic chores done. Most of our volunteers have opted to stay home, as well they should. Dave and I are both “essential” workers. That is both a blessing and a curse. I’m glad to have a job that gives me a change of scenery, but it is nerve wracking trying to protect myself in public.
After we had to cancel the Easter Event, we were hoping upon hope we could reschedule an event in May. Obviously, that is no longer looking like a possibility. At this point, we are just hopeful just to have the Halloween Spooktacular this year. These events are how we pay for our hay for the winter. Plus, the fact is that we LOVE to put these events on. We love to see kids riding and playing and having a great time with our rescued animals. We are going to have to get really creative to figure out how to make up those funds.
The thing I’ve been thinking about a lot lately is the rest of the small non-profit animal rescues out there. What happens to the ones like us with no paid staff? What happens to the ones who have to use their own personal money when the donations run out as they often do? How long can they hang on? Animals still need to be fed no matter what. What a lot of people don’t realize is, if you’re a small non-profit business that has NO paid staff, you CANNOT get help from this small business stimulus.
I wish SOMEBODY would talk about it. I have contacted every news outlet I can think of with no response whatsoever. Small non-profits are the backbone of the rescue mission. I’ve talked to several of my fellow rescues and some are wondering how long they can hold on before they have to close their doors for good. This rescue IS luckier than most small rescues. We have an AMAZING donator base that supports our mission and for that we are unbelievably grateful. We will likely not be forced into that position. But at some point, hard decisions will have to be made for some of the rescues who have put their hearts, souls, blood, sweat and tears into saving animals.
And even though we are doing ok, we can’t go to auctions and with animal control being closed, we aren’t helping them either. So, we are maintaining, but I worry every day about the animals out there we can’t help right now and that thought is both heartbreaking and exhausting.
Again, THANK you to our generous donators. Without you, we wouldn’t be us. Because of our supporters, we have been able to help a couple of local people keep their animals through this pandemic. We are unbelievably grateful for everyone who helps our mission, whether it’s donations, sharing posts, or dropping off bottles and cans. We are truly humbled by our supporters.
So, even if it’s not us, PLEASE support your local volunteer rescues. We all need to work together so everybody can come through this.
Hopefully, this ends sooner than later for everyone’s sake. Stay strong everybody.~Lisa