Mark the date! We have many upcoming volunteer work projects and our 2nd Open House is in the planning stages, so we wanted to bring you up to date with many of the awesome things happening at the rescue.
We are so excited to announce two fabulous grants we have received that will help improve the facilities and make the rescue safer, more functional for our volunteers and allow us to finally complete the office.
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At last years open house we were asked if there were things we needed for the rescue and I told a lovely couple about getting pneumonia the winter of 2018-19 because I was out in sub-zero weather dragging hoses through the snow to fill the water troughs and keeping numerous extension cords connected so we could plug in water trough heaters so the water wouldn’t freeze, then having to empty the 150 feet of hose so I could bring it in the house overnight so it wouldn’t freeze. My dream I told them was to bring water and electric lines from the residence to the barn so we install water lines and electric outlets to each water trough thus eliminating the need for long hoses or extension cords. Also to run electric to the office, hay barn and machine shed so we would have lighting inside and out and the office electricity for a computer and printer so volunteers could help with administrative work.
Our dream came true when we recently met with Preston Hammond, the Show Low Home Depot store manager, Justin the assistant store manager and John the floor manager where we learned that by special request from Preston the Home Depot Foundation is covering the substantial cost of all the equipment and supplies needed to complete all of those projects.
In addition to us having volunteers to do the work the Show Low Home Depot will also have some employees who want to help too. This will be a 3-day project and we are hoping to get volunteers to help us. Project date is tentatively set for March 29th and all are welcome to help, especially veterans and retired military which the Home Depot Foundation loves to support. More information will be sent out for the project. MANY HUGE THANKS to everyone who helped with this wonderful grant.
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Many times we submit grant applications and they take months before you hear if they even get back to you. Just a week ago we received an email from the Arizona Horse Lovers Foundation that we had been approved for a $3000 grant to purchase cinder sand and dirt to create proper footing in our round pen, barn and quarantine stalls. This will be fabulous because we can do more ground training work with the equines safely in the round pen and for the barn stall create level floors to fill in the erosion caused by water running through the barn prior to the Griffin’s purchasing the property. A few years ago we filled them in with sand, but with high winds, the fill sand all blew away.
We would like to do the first phase of the footing work in the round pen this coming weekend we have our first delivery scheduled for Friday. The interior stall need a little more hands on work. If you are interested, we need help disconnecting some pipe panels and moving the cinders from the tractor to inside the stall with wheelbarrows on Saturday Feb. 29th, just reply to this email and we can get you the details.
Huge thanks to Judi Wallis for all her work submitting the grant request and to Mari Lenton for calling all the vendors to see who would give us the best price for the cinder sand needed for this project.
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Last week I got a phone call from Amanda at A Home For Every Horse, a national program for qualified rescues that we have been members of for many years. They were instrumental in helping us get a corporate grant from Tractor Supply Company, one of their main sponsors, during the drought so we could purchase water troughs for the horses in the forests in both the Lakeside Ranger District of the Apache Sitgreaves National Forest and the White Mountain Apache Tribal forest.
As a follow up they are sending a film crew to learn more about us and what we do to service the White Mountains, Arizona and throughout the country. We are so humbled and excited to be chosen a featured rescue for their organization.
In preparation we will need some clean up and organizing assistance the first part of March. They will be spending the day at the rescue on March 19th. It is too early to plant the garden, but it could be pruned, and we could put silk ones in temporarily. If you are interested in helping with this project, please respond to this email and we can get you more details.
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In a continuation of our assistance efforts with fellow rescue, Turning Pointe Donkey Rescue in Michigan, we are planning to bring another load of mini and standard donkeys to the rescue so we can find them wonderful adoptive homes. Since the AZ Burro Cross event that we participated in last October in Superior AZ the request for donkeys has increased and may of our adopters have friends who now want donkeys too. Once again, we will be using Paul with Hidden Brook Equine Transport and Fleet of Angels (fleetofangels.org) in hopes to bring 12-16 sweet longears to the rescue tentatively mid-April. More details about that as we get closer.
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The end of April we will do our Facebook online FUNdraiser and we have over 150 items for people to bid on. Artwork of Rimson and Buddie, jewelry, household items, tack and saddles, and much more. This is so much fun because people all over the country can bid and win items that have been graciously donated by so many individuals and businesses alike. This is such a fun event because people all over the world can participate and help the rescue at the same time.
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Mark your calendars for our Rimson and Buddie Open House on Sunday, May 31st from 11am -2pm. Again, this year we will open the rescue to the public to visit the boys and the rest of the equines at the rescue. We will also have a silent auction with awesome prizes, and we will be selling mug, hats and note cards with Buddie, Rimson and the other equine too. Funds raised during the open house help us provide feed, hay, health care needs, training for those at the rescue and to help others in need. More details on this fun event as we get closer. If you would like to volunteer, please respond to this email and mention volunteering for the open house.
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As you can see we have a very busy spring planned and all of this is in addition to or normal rescue activities (we have brought 2 horses and 2 mini donkeys to the rescue already this year). Though a little overwhelming, we could not be happier that we have been blessed with the grants to do the much needed projects making things easier for the volunteers and better for the fur babies.
I feel like saying, “pinch me so I know this is not just a dream.”
If you would like to volunteer at any of these events or help the rescue with regular feeding and care of all the fur babies, just reply to this email and let us know what you are interested in doing. Likewise if you have any questions, please don't hesitate to ask. As a 100% volunteer run organization with many hands we can make light work. Everyone's efforts a appreciated so very much.
Thank you!!!!
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