Raising Money for a Great Caws

Elementary Students Raising Money for a Great Caws

Summit Drive Elementary Students Worked Together to Raise Over $500 for

LCAR St. Francis Farm

Staff at Summit Drive Elementary, in Greenville, SC, reached out to LCAR St. Francis Farm at the beginning of February with a great idea! They wanted to do a fundraiser and believed that all of their students would rally behind one that supported animals in need. 

Most people reading this post know who St. Francis Farm is, but for those that don't; we are an animal sanctuary, located on a 50 acre farm in Carlisle, SC. We have over 100 dogs and 40 cats on our farm all the time. We take in the animals that literally have no place else they could go. We save the last animals on the list that no one else wants to save because they might be: old, hurt, or scared. We give these animals a home, love, time, space and any medical treatments they might need to enjoy life. We also house hundreds of animals every year on their way to a foster or forever home. And our safe haven is always here in case, for some reason, that "perfect" match forever home just doesn't work out. 

We were thrilled and humbled that Summit Drive picked us! Two of our staff members visited the school before the fundraiser began to introduce the students to Laurel and Matilda (two of our permanent residents at the farm). The kids LOVED every minute of the visit, and so did Laurel and Matilda! We told their stories of how these two amazing dogs came to our farm and how their fundraiser would help them. Of course, they were a little more interested in petting the dogs... But I think they got the point of the fundraiser. :)

All the different classes were so excited and immediately started bringing in their coins. It was a close race at first, but one team pulled away, and raised over $200!! That was amazing! Not only did they win the grand prize of getting to duck tape the principle to a tree... but their class teacher also added the incentive that she would bring her own dog in for the day to celebrate the win!

When we went back to celebrate and congratulate the winning class, we were ecstatic to learn that the school had raised $519 altogether for St Francis Farm! Percy came with us to thank the students for all their hard work and awesome job with this great fundraiser. Our staff and our little "helpers" can't wait to go back and visit the students again!

Pucks and Paws

Fundraiser with the Greenville Swamp Rabbits

The Greenville Swamp Rabbits are a hockey team in Greenville, SC with a whole team full of animal lovers. So a few years ago, they started the Pucks and Paws hockey game, where all supporters who attend the game can bring their beloved dogs. They also allow several rescues from the area to attend the game and give back a portion of the proceeds to these rescues. St. Francis Farm was one of the chosen rescues for this year's game! We had a table to speak with locals about the farm and about the important work we do. This was a great opportunity for us to reach more people in the area. 

We had information on the Farm, homemade dog treats, and a giveaway for one of our new Facebook followers. We brought with us two of our senior dogs, Franklyn and Laurel, and they had a blast!

By the end of the night Laurel was pooped and the Swamp Rabbits had won! It was a great night.

We met several Greenville residents who loved all animals and had rescue pets of their own. We hope to be a part of this game again in the coming years and hope to see more and more people interested in not only St. Francis Farm, but in rescues in general! Thank you for support to help make this night happen. As well as helping us continue to operate through your generosity. We operate solely on donations. Every donation, no matter how small, makes a big impact!

You can donate to our cause by clicking HERE

Or mail a donation to:

St. Francis Farm

477 Edwards Rd

Carlisle, SC 29031

St. Francis Farm Outreach Program

St. Francis Farm Outreach Program

Winter Storm Helena

The weekend of January 6th, 2017 brought Winter Storm Helena to the southeast and with it some of the coldest temperatures in recent history. St. Francis Farm residents were all set with plenty of food, a warm place to sleep and could just wait out the storm. While so many other dogs in the Carlisle area, however, were not so lucky. Carlisle is a very rural, poor area where the majority of dog owners make their dogs live outside on a chain tied to a tree or concrete without a warm place to sleep or even a dog house. While many residents do love their animals, they struggle to feed themselves, much less are capable of properly feeding and providing for their furry companions.

Staff at St. Francis Farm and volunteers visiting from our northern parent organization, Last Chance Animal Rescue, quickly came up with a plan to help our community as much as possible. They went to the local tractor supply and purchased hundreds of pounds of dog food, straw, and dog houses to deliver throughout the community. Most of the people they delivered items to were almost as happy for the help as their animals.

Unfortunately, we came across many sad cases during this weekend. Including a mother dog who had very recently given birth to five puppies. Two of them had frozen to death before we were able to get to them. Another of these tiny puppies was so close to death, we almost thought that she was lost to us. But this strong little girl started moving and our staff quickly asked the owners if we could bring her back to the farm to get her warm and healthy. Luckily the owners agreed and our farm manager, Amy, can be seen bottle feeding this little nugget above. Once we were sure she was going to be okay, staff went back to the puppies' owners and convinced them to let the mother and other puppies come home with us.

Most of the people we came across gladly took the help we offered them and we left knowing those animals were much better off than before we came. Others we just couldn't leave behind and many of the owners knew they weren't doing right by their pets. We finished the weekend by taking in a total of 13 dogs that weekend. That is 13 more dogs to add to the almost 100 we already have here at the farm. So things have been a little tight since that weekend. There were a few dogs that we were able to get into foster care or get adopted pretty quickly!

We are so happy we were able to help so many animals and appreciate all of our supporters that help us with this important outreach project! Now we need your help again with the continued care of the remaining amazing dogs still here at St. Francis. You can donate HERE to help St. Francis Farm continue to care for all of these wonderful fur babies and hopefully soon we can find them all the perfect forever home!

Thank you for your continued support in our life-saving mission!