How to Volunteer
1. Read this webpage for general information.
2. Schedule a farm tour to get an overview of who we are, what we do, and why. Please visit our Visit page for details on how to schedule a farm tour.
3. Fill out a volunteer application. Please ask for one at the end of your farm tour.
4. Attend an orientation and safety training. We'll let you know how/when.
The Sanctuary helps people of all ages experience nature's power to heal by providing them with an opportunity to volunteer on a real working farm. Working with animals and gardening has been widely shown to lower blood pressure, ease depression and stress, and help lonely people establish therapeutic relationships.
Something as simple as brushing a horse can be therapeutic for a rescued animal
and healthy for you, too.
Because it takes time and effort to train people to work safely around rescued animals and farm equipment, we require volunteers to make a commitment to serve for a reasonable amount of time. To be perfectly honest, the one-time or occasional volunteer does not really help us because of the learning curve. It's the regular volunteer who "knows the drill" who provides the most effective help. For important safety reasons, those under age 18 must be accompanied by a parent or guardian.
Our volunteer jobs are mostly simple but important tasks related to taking care of animals, farming and gardening, and general clean-up. For these kinds of jobs you must be in good shape and not suffer from allergies to animals or hay. Because most of the work on the farm is physical in nature, this is not the right place if you have lower back pain or other similar medical issues.
Working in our organic garden is a peaceful, relaxing way to restore your health.
If hands-on farm work is not your cup of tea, we also have a variety volunteer opportunities of a clerical or technical nature. Some of them may be done from the comfort of your own home. These jobs are just as important as bucking hay or mucking out the barn.
For more information, please email info@SanctuaryOne.org or call 541.899.8627.
