A Special Opportunity to Support Spring Farm CARES

A Special Opportunity to Support Spring Farm CARES

We are excited to share that on September 20, Spring Farm CARES will be participating in the third annual Mohawk Valley Gives, a 24-hour community-wide giving day to benefit nonprofit organizations serving the Mohawk Valley.

During last year’s giving day, the community came together and raised more than $2.4 million benefiting over 250 local organizations. We can’t wait to be a part of this exciting event this year!

We will have the opportunity to promote our mission, raise funds to support our animals and be placed in the running for several bonus prizes!

We’re also excited to announce that thanks to a generous donor, all donations from September 1 – 30th will be matched up to the first $25,000; so participating in this event will double your impact!

Ways You Can Help:

  • Become an SFC Ambassador! Host your own personal fundraising campaign that you can share with friends & family. Just follow the link below and click the Fundraise Button.

    Create Your Fundraising Campaign Here

  • Get ready to give! On September 20th, visit www.givemv.org and make a donation to Spring Farm CARES to help us reach our goal! All giving will end at 11:59PM on September 22, so make sure to get your gift in on time.
  • Spread the word! Make sure to share about our Mohawk Valley Gives campaign with friends, family, neighbors and coworkers online and in person. Keep an eye out on our Spring Farm CARES Facebook page for posts that you can share; it helps us reach more supporters!
Make sure to come visit us during our open house on September 14 for a chance to meet some of the animals that you will be impacting with your donation! We will also be accepting offline (cash or check) donations during this event.

See you in September!

Mark Your Calendar For Our September Open House

Come Visit Our Animals & See What’s New

Spring Farm CARES Open House
Saturday, September 14
11:00 AM to 4:00 PM
3364 State Route 12, Clinton, NY 13323

You’re invited to a very special Spring Farm CARES Open House!
Join us in celebrating our newly renovated small animal facility with live music, food, tours and meet & greets with our animal residents.
We have been undergoing major renovations since June 2023 that included a complete remodel of all 13 of our cat rooms and their enclosed porches as well as a new roof, new floors, new walls, whole new porches, new bathrooms, a new heating/cooling system, new lighting, and some structural fixes that had to be made to a 30-year-old pole barn structure.

Throughout this process, the priority has been to cause the least amount of stress to the animals who call Kigercat Hall their home. To do these renovations, all of the cats needed to be removed from their rooms for several weeks. We completed the job in phases involving four rooms at a time and had large temporary cat rooms built in the middle of the hall, so cats had a nice place to live while their home was getting renovated. The cats enjoyed the novelty and variety of their temporary digs but were even more excited when they could return to their beautiful, brand-new homes.

The renovations are officially complete as of July, which marks an exciting new chapter for us here at Spring Farm. It is incredible to have our hall back to its usual glory and to see our cats blossom in their wonderful new homes. And with all the construction complete and the temporary cat rooms gone, we can better accommodate more visitors and tours.

We’ve also had other new developments in the works, such as the creation of a new volunteer program, and we will have lots of exciting information to share with you at the open house about how you can get more involved and be a part of our mission here at Spring Farm CARES.

See you on September 14!

 

Your May Newsletter is Here!

You Are The Bridge To Healing

We are excited to share with you our latests newsletter highlighting the healing you have made possible. We hope you enjoy reading the stories of several of the animals who you have helped with your generosity. You’ll also find in this issue how the animals in our sanctuary also reach out to help humans in need. We will share with you some work they are doing with a local Veteran’s group. Your support helps animals and humans alike. We thank you with all our hearts!

 

Download Your Copy Now

 

The Night Before Christmas Donkey Song

‘Tis the night before Christmas and all through the farm,

All the creatures were tucked in and all safe from harm.

The cats were all nestled all snug in their beds,

While visions of catnip danced through their heads.

The horses were wistful and the pigs were all quiet,

They had all just been fed their own special diet.

But the quiet was broken by the creak of the door,

When in walked a human to check them once more.

The nightly last check and refresh of hay,

Is a happy occasion at the end of their day.

So quietly the human made her way all around,

The munching of hay was a wonderful sound.

The peace was so peaceful and the quiet so nice,

When all of a sudden the donkeys thought twice.

With a chorus of bellows they let loose their brays,

And they told their dear human to hurry their way.

Now the truth should be told that they had plenty to eat,

But the donkeys all twirled around while stamping their feet.

The human obeyed them and gave them a snack,

Because the animals were promised there’d be nothing they lack.

Merry Christmas from all of the animals of Spring Farm CARES. Volume up when you watch the video.

 

Happy Thanksgiving!

May your day be filled with peace and gratitude!

Lecture: How Animal Communication Benefits Animal Sanctuaries

Dawn Hayman, co-founder of Spring Farm CARES will be joining Ellie Laks, founder of The Gentle Barn, for an interview about how animal communication benefits animal sanctuaries. It is a rare opportunity to have two animal communicators, who also founded animal sanctuaries, share their unique roles and perspectives that they have with the animals. All proceeds will be split between both organizations.

November 18th by Zoom. Your ticket includes Zoom replay if you can’t make it to the live class.

Find Out More

 

Special Halloween Anniversary

Today is a most memorable anniversary for Spring Farm CARES. Thirty years ago today, Halloween 1993, we lost our barn that housed our small animals and the living quarters and offices for co-founders Bonnie and Dawn due to a fire started by a freak snow storm. But more than losing a building or our things, we lost 24 small animals (cats, dogs, parakeets). Thirty years later, that night is still etched in our hearts and souls forever.

The fire was started due to the freak Nor Easter that dumped 14 inches of wet heavy snow that night. A power surge from a car hitting a telephone poll started the building on fire. The fire departments had trouble getting to us. We lost it all. It was beyond devastating.

Today, our thoughts go out to the community who stood beside us, helped pick us up, and gave us the strength and hope needed to start all over again, even when we thought we couldn’t. People immediately came in our driveway the next day with clothing and items for immediate survival. We are forever grateful to the fire departments who were here for saving the horses and the horse barn.

You who supported us all these years gave us the most amazing gift of all – your love and support. Because of this amazing community of supporters, we are here 30 years later stronger than ever. It doesn’t seem possible that this much time has gone by.

We will forever be grateful for the love and support we received.
Here is to the next 30 years and beyond!

First Phase of Cat Room Renovations Complete

There is no better time than on National Cat day to announce the completion of Phase 1 of our small animal facility renovations. This project is huge and the first four cat rooms are now complete. Take a look at the difference!

We started this project to replace flooring and discovered structural problems that had to be addressed. Our 30 year-old building was in need of major repairs and not just cosmetic upgrades. The rooms and enclosed porches are all completely designed with the cats in mind. From the commercial grade rubber floors, new lighting, upgraded heating/ac system and other upgrades, the rooms are not only brighter for the cats, but easier to clean and disinfect for the staff. We have three more phases to go and Phase 2 will start this coming week. We will keep you posted with the progress. Special thanks to C2C Construction for all their hard work into making this a reality! The cats are beyond thrilled with their new digs…. as are all of the caretakers!

And above all, very special thanks to our donors for making this all possible.

Cat Rooms 1 & 2 Before Renovations

Cat Rooms 1 and 2 After

 

 

Cat Rooms 3 and 4 Before Renovations

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cat Rooms 3 and 4 After

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cat Porches Rooms 1-4 Before renovations

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cat Porches Rooms 1-4, After

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We are Hiring for Animal Caretakers!

We are looking to expand our team of both small and large animal caretakers. We need energetic, dedicated people who want to join our mission and care for animals who have nowhere else to go but who have so much love to give.

Your August Newsletter is Now Available!

See what our cats have to say and what they want you to know. Our August newsletter is devoted to what is happening on the farm from the cats’ perspective.There is lots going on here and lots to share with you.

Download Your Copy 

Major Renovations

To all our visitors and supporters. We are undergoing major renovations to our entire small animal facility that will start Monday and last through at least October. We ask for your patience as we try to schedule and accommodate tours. For those of you visiting for our Purrfect Readers Program, there may be some limitations of what rooms you can visit on certain days.

To do these renovations, all of the cats will need to be removed from their rooms for several weeks. The job will be done in phases which will involve 4 cat rooms at a time. To accomplish this, we have had large temporary cat rooms built in the middle of our hall. Cats from the first bank of rooms have now moved in this weekend. They have settled in very well and seem to love their temporary digs. We think they will be even more excited when they see their new rooms when they are finished.

These renovations include a complete remodel of both their rooms and enclosed porches. New roof, new floors, new walls, whole new porches, new heating/cooling system, new lighting, and some structural fixes that have to be made to a 30 year old pole barn structure. It is a mammoth project that will take the entire summer and then some. We will keep you posted as we move along.

All work is being done centered around what causes the least amount of stress for the animals. So please be patient if we have restrictions on which animals can be visited on a tour etc.

Here are some photos of the temporary cat rooms in the middle of the hall.

Looking down on the structure from our balcony

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The view as you enter our small animal facility

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Temporary Room 1

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Temporary Room 2

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Temporary Room 3

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Temporary Room 4

The Spirit of Christmas

Our next uplifting story is about another donor who arrived the day after Christmas with a whole load of donations from items off of our wish list. There were donations for every species of animal that we have in the sanctuary. This donation came with a beautiful card and a most touching story.

This person bought all of the items being donated and she carefully wrapped them all with tags for her various family members. Imagine opening up a gift of a horse water bucket or a case of paper towels and wondering …. Huh, what is this for? But each gift for each family member came with a letter. This is what the letter said:

“You may all be wondering what on earth these gifts are for!

As I sat one night enjoying the Christmas lights and decorations I had put up, I began to think about Christmas growing up. I remembered the big family dinners, the Christmas trees, lights, cookies, and of course getting ready for Santa and presents. It seemed like it was weeks long of parties with family and friends.

As I got a little older, the parties became smaller as family had passed on, friends came and friends went, Santa was no longer, family had changed. The miracle of Christmas I became to see in a different light, as a child it is about gifts and presents and Santa. Now, I truly realize it is about spending time with family and friends, a time to enjoy each moment with those that are current in your life and realize people come into your life and leave your life. There is no knowing or time frame of when any of that will happen. It is a time to reflect on how thankful I am for all of you, and how much I appreciate who I am as a person. The true miracle and meaning of Christmas cannot be wrapped, it is truly something you feel.

Each of us have been blessed with health, happiness, family, friends, and the ability to provide for our families

This year I decided that for Christmas I wanted to give everyone the gift of giving. In a donation in each and everyone’s name (Pets too!) all these items will be brought to the Spring Farm CARES Animal Sanctuary in Clinton. They are a refuge for animals that have not been as lucky as I have been to have a loving, caring family that is always there by my side supporting me. With these gifts we will be giving these animals a Christmas miracle, love, care, happiness and support for them as you all have and will continue to do for me.

Merry Christmas! With love always and forever….”

This donor writes in her card to us – “The true meaning of Christmas was felt throughout our home.”

We thank this family for sharing that true meaning of Christmas throughout our sanctuary too. It was felt by animals and humans alike. Kindness truly makes a difference.

The Spirit of Giving

Every single donation that we get here is important to us for so many reasons. Often we get donations with notes that read, “I so wish I could do more. I hope this small donation helps a little.” The truth is there is no such thing as a donation that is small. Your support isn’t just about money. It is also the giving that is behind the donation. It is your love and thoughts and prayers. It is in short, what you give from your heart. All of that matters – greatly.

We would like to share with you two donors who truly epitomize the ideal of giving. We will do them in two separate posts. We are keeping these donors anonymous because neither of them gave what they did for recognition. They gave selflessly for the sake of giving to another. And we would like to honor that ideal.

The first story is about a donor who is just 13 years old. She has never even been to Spring Farm as she lives in Michigan. She first started sponsoring animals on our website about two years ago. She saved up her allowance from work she does at home, and she would sponsor an animal for each $100 she saved up.  She is a remarkable young lady. She has asked to remain anonymous because she has learned that true giving is not asking for recognition in return. Over the years, the sponsorships just keep coming. We have been deeply touched by her love and generosity.

This year, she sponsored animals continuously all year. And then we got an email from her that she was going to be sending us sponsorships/donations for what she called the 10 days of Christmas. You see, she had saved up $1,000. She was trying for the 12 days of Christmas and ten is what she had. We were stunned. Her mother let us know that this young lady had worked incredibly hard all year, not just at home, but also with a job that she obtained earlier this year. Every penny of her earnings were dedicated to Spring Farm CARES. Not only that, she also asked that all her birthday and Christmas gifts were given to her to donate to the animals as well. Each day for 10 days she sponsored an animal or donated towards a specific project here. And then, just before Christmas, she contacted us that she had an eleventh and twelfth day of Christmas. Her mother later told us that she was given an unexpected bonus from her job and she was then able to  fulfill her 12 days of Christmas donations.

Her goal is to sponsor every one of the SFC animals at least once. She is well on her way. What an amazing person. What a caring and giving heart. We are beyond grateful for all that she does. She is an example of what giving and compassion and kindness are all about.