one by one®: The Happy Herd Farm Sanctuary
The Happy Herd Farm Sanctuary in Langley, British Columbia, is a 4.5 acre sanctuary for abandoned, abused and at-risk farm animals. It’s home to three cows, 12 pigs, 22 goats and sheep, plus many chickens and turkeys.
“I often tell people we’re not a sanctuary just for animals, we’re a sanctuary for people too,” said Diane Marsh, who co-founded the charitable organization with her husband. Their work began about 14 years ago when the couple began rescuing chickens from slaughter auctions. Soon after, a calf joined the chickens. Then a pig. In 2012, they made it official and established the charity.
Farm animals find a loving forever home
Recently, The Happy Herd Farm Sanctuary lost two beloved animals—a 26-year-old donkey and the farm’s first big pig that lived to be 11 years old and weighed about 800 pounds. The farm was also once home to a goat named Gibbles. He had significant medical issues and his leg needed to be amputated, so he carried on using a wheelchair. You could say Gibbles was a local legend, as he even attracted media attention.
Aside from its co-founders and a few part-time employees, The Happy Herd Farm Sanctuary is powered by about 60 volunteers. “We tend to get volunteers who come here and are going through some rough times,” Marsh said. “They volunteer with us, and they end up coming by every week and they leave with smiles.”
Private donations are the sanctuary’s exclusive source of funding since it doesn’t receive any government assistance. For instance, summer tours at the farm help raise money. “Every cent we raise is from people coming to visit or our monthly donors,” Marsh said.
Another popular fundraising event is yoga with its pigs and turkeys. “We have pigs that are 450 pounds, and they love to come by the participants and get belly rubs,” Marsh said.
Shirts for nonprofits help rally support
The sanctuary used a one by one grant to buy long-sleeve shirts to sell in its gift shop. Merchandise sales are another way the sanctuary fundraises. Not only do the sales raise money, but they also help promote the organization in the community. “Opportunities like this grant make a tremendous difference,” Marsh said. “They are the lifeblood for us.”
A note from Cheryl
The Happy Herd Farm Sanctuary provides a caring forever home for cows, pigs, goats and other farm animals, and it serves its visitors and volunteers with countless smiles. The ability to help this organization with a donation of shirts for nonprofit fundraising made us our own happy herd. If you’re interested in a one by one grant, visit onebyone.4imprint.ca.