Winter is coming and a group of rescue animals living on a farm in Oxford Township needs help staying fed during the long, cold months.
On Sunday, Oct. 25, the Pan Equus Animal Sanctuary (PEAS), located at 940 Hummer Lake Rd., will host its first annual fall fund-raiser from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.
The goal is to raise enough money to purchase 1,500 bales of hay in order to keep the bellies of the sanctuary’s 27 horses filled from November through April.
‘That’s just historically what we end up burning through,? explained Ed Stull, who co-founded the nonprofit animal sanctuary with his wife, Judy Duncan. ?(Hay is) probably the single biggest expense that we have (during the year). The horses pretty much graze (in the pasture) all summer.?
Located on a 75-acre farm between M-24 and N. Coats Rd., PEAS? primary focus is taking in horses who are either old, have been abused and/or neglected, or whose owners are no longer able to adequately care for them. The sanctuary also has goats, chickens, dogs, cats and a pig in residence.
PEAS has been operating since 1994, but it didn’t become a public nonprofit until last year.
The Oct. 25 fund-raiser will feature a variety of fun, family activities suitable for all ages including games, arts and crafts, face-painting, a haunted house, a petting zoo and hay rides.
Admission is $5 per person. Every five-spot buys one 60-pound bale of hale.
A silent auction, 50/50 raffle and bake sale will also be conducted to help raise funds.
Staffing the fund-raiser will be students from the LOFT program based at Oxford High School.
LOFT stands for Learning Opportunities for Tomorrow. The program serves 18-to-26-year-old students with developmental disabilities or cognitive impairment. Through LOFT they learn a variety of useful skills that enable them to lead productive, fulfilling and independent lives.
‘The LOFT students are going to help run the whole event,? said Jeanne DiCicco, teacher and program founder. ‘They’re going to be doing ticket sales and helping out wherever they’re needed. It’s going to be fun. The kids are going to make it fun. Just to see what (Stull and Duncan) have there is amazing.?
LOFT and PEAS enjoy a very special relationship.
Students come there to camp, ride horses, learn about farm animals and interact with them, and flourish in a calm atmosphere filled with nothing but acceptance and support.
‘They love it there,? DiCicco said. ‘For them, it feels like home, like a family. It’s a place we can go to for peace and serenity any time we want. They feel (at) peace with the animals, every one of them. It gets them out of the classroom and every one of my students benefits, no matter what their disability is. They can go there, do something and feel important.?
PEAS even employs a couple of LOFT students, Alicia Harrell and Meaghan Guzanek, who do everything from grooming and massaging the animals to cleaning stalls.
‘They go independently,? said DiCicco, who noted the students rely on the North Oakland Transportation Authority to drive them to and from the farm.
Overall, DiCicco said visits to PEAS have helped LOFT students learn and grow in so many areas including socialization, collaboration, respect, and trust.
?(PEAS) has been an amazing piece of our program,? she said. ‘We are just hoping that we can continue to grow it, so that as my students develop and get older, they have a place they can go to and work and volunteer (at), and know they’re accepted 100 percent ? no judgment.?
DiCicco’s students love the idea they’re helping to put on a fund-raiser for someone else because they’re usually the ones on the receiving end of events like this.
‘They’re very excited about giving back,? she said. ‘We talked about it in the classroom.?
Stull is amazed by how closely special needs individuals ‘bond? with the rescue animals.
‘There’s a genuine connection,? he said.
He recalled how a little girl with selective mutism ? a childhood anxiety disorder characterized by an inability to speak in certain social settings ? visited PEAS and the experience helped her come out of her shell a bit.
‘She was here all afternoon, running around and just having a ball with her friend and her sister ? (she was) not talking, but she was totally engaged,? Stull said. ‘Her mother was overcome with emotion. She was just balling.?
But it’s not just special needs people who benefit from visiting PEAS.
Stull explained how interacting with the animals helps relax people and lower their blood pressure, and it also helps socialize the animals and build their trust in people.
‘That’s the synergy part of it,? he said. ‘You help yourself. You help the animals.?
For more information about PEAS, please visit www.peanimalsanctuary.org or call (248) 343-4484.