The public has answered plea to help from Victoria’s Beacon Hill Children’s Farm after it was forced to close less than a week after opening due to fears surrounding COVID-19.
The farm relies on donations and volunteers to help get through the summer after closing for the winter to repair and renovate the Children’s Farm in preparation for the new season.
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“This year the farm looked great when we opened: new roofs, lots of fresh paint inside and outside the barns, everything cleaned and shiny,” writes Claudia Laube, the farm’s manager. Laube created a GoFundMe on April 8 and in less than 24 hours, raised almost two-thirds of its original $6,000 goal.
Now, a week into the campaign, it has received pledges for more than $27,000.
| Baby Muggins was the first to be born this season. (GoFundMe) |
“[When we opened] we swapped stories about the past winter months, about our animals, our little brand new baby goat “Muggins” and our Momma goats pregnant with all the new little bundles of joy that we are expecting this season,” reads the GoFundMe.
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Then the pandemic hit — a “situation that has never arisen in the past 35 years of operation.”
Now the farm needs the community’s help to support the animals who call Beacon Hill Park home.
“It is not an easy step to ask for help. We totally understand that this crisis has put many people and businesses in financial difficulties and we certainly don’t want to make these worse.” writes Laube, adding that the hope is people who can afford to make a donation do so.
Some of the farm’s cost includes hay, for one month which comes with a $2,250 price tag, grain or feed for the month sits at about $250, veterinary costs come to $1,000 per month and general maintenance is around $1,300 for a month, plus more.
To make a contribution to the GoFundMe visit gofundme.com/f/goat-fund-me-help-the-beacon-hill-children039s-farm
kendra.crighton@blackpress.ca
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