- Mitten Misfits Farm Sanctuary faces a 20% increase in costs and a 30% drop in volunteers as winter challenges intensify.
- Community members can help by donating or attending the volunteer orientation this Saturday.
- Watch the video above to see how Mitten Misfits Farms Sanctuary is handling the cold weather.
(The following is a transcription of the full broadcast story)
Mitten Misfits Farm Sanctuary takes care of animals that would otherwise be bound for euthanization on other farms.
As you Grand Ledge neighborhood reporter I have covered the efforts by Mitten Misfits farm sanctuary to prepare for the winter, and now its here.
Snow is covering the ground and temperatures have dropped since my last visit.
More work is now required to keep the over 100 animals healthy on the farm.
From Pigs to Sheep to Goats to Cats, The Co-Founder of mitten misfits farm sanctuary, Bob Worthy, says extra attention is key keeping those animals safe.
“We have to be doubly sure that we give them enough nutrition and we have to provide shelter for them” Said Worthy.
He said his costs increase by about 20 percent during the winter to meet additional needs.
“We have to have heated bowls and we have to have a lot of them, there’s probably 20 of them out here which is extremely expensive because of the electric bill.” Said Worthy.
But it’s not only costs on the rise, tasks like time it takes to fill the twenty heated water bowls puts a strain on farm resources.
“One of the things that is more work in the winter is some of the remote watering troughs, have to be filled with buckets instead of hoses, and let me tell you hoses are a lot easier.” Said Worthy.
On top of that Worthy said he also sees a 30% drop in volunteers as MSU students who help at the farm head home for winter break.
“When we lose 30 percent of our volunteer group it really hurts and so if we could increase our volunteer base that would help dramatically.” Said Worthy.
One of the Volunteers taking on some extra work is Shannon Summers, she says more help is needed.
“All shifts are very short during the winter and as you know life in general in the winter, in Michigan, is just a little bit harder for humans and for animals so the extra hands are really appreciated.” Said Summers.
Worthy added he thanks neighbors who stepped up in providing food and Christmas trees to help some of the animals get through the winter.
“The response was amazing, we had an amazing response, we have a lot of wonderful followers.” Said Worthy.
INFORMATION ON VOLUNTEER ORIENTATION
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