Unfortunately, 2009 has proven to be the hardest year on record for the R.A.S.T.A. charity due to the hugely inflated hay prices and weakened economy donations have been way down but the number of animals needing our help has increased significantly. However, due to the generosity of the following people, as well as many other wonderful supporters both donors and volunteers, the struggles at the Sanctuary have been eased tremendously.
A Very Generous Straw Donation!!
Just as we were running out of bedding, Ross Martin of De Winton recently donated another 425 bales of straw!! Thank you Ross for your continued support of R.A.S.T.A.’s efforts!!
We Have Water!!
Due to a waterline break in the middle of a cold spell in the winter we had not had running water at R.A.S.T.A. ‘s barn for nearly eight months. For an entire winter we were faced with trucking in the water every two days and all summer we pulled hundreds of feet of hoses all over the property to get the animals watered, the pools filled, buckets cleaned, etc. To put it mildly, it has been absolute hell.
It took us nearly eight months to fund raise enough money to pay for the waterline repairs as well as some upgrades to the old system as this project required several thousands of dollars.
Thank You Keystone Excavating LTD. for Generously Donating your Excavating Services!!
We Have Electricity!!
A very special thank you goes out to EECOL Electric Corp. for generously donating the lights, infrared heaters, sensors and all the necessary hi-tech electrical material to replace and upgrade the nearly 100-year-old wiring in our barn as well as to George Holewski and his lovely wife Susan Blissett for kindly donating their time to install all the necessary components.
Thank you very much George & Susan for truly taking great pride in your work and doing such an excellent job. It has been an absolute dream come true for all of us at the Sanctuary to have safe and reliable electricity. No more fumbling around in the dark with a flashlight with pitchforks falling on our heads!!
Thank you George & Susan for Lighting up our Lives!!
An Amazing Hay Donation!!
Thank You Maria & Bill Dunki
We wish to send a special thank you to Maria and Bill Dunki for their extremely generous donation of 650 bales of hay!!
We initially met Maria and Bill last year as a result of a news clip aired by CTV about our desperate need for hay. They were kind enough to donate 70 bales right there on the spot after seeing our story and later contacted us about the possibility of more hay after their crop was cut.
Never in our wildest dreams did we think that they would come up with an additional 580 bales!!
Thank you Maria & Bill for the Hay!!
Faced with a slight transportaion issue of how to get 580 bales of hay cost efficiently from the Dunki’s property near Cochrane to the R.A.S.T.A. Sanctuary in De Winton we decided to hire a semi truck driver with a very large trailer to transport the hay all in one load. Realizing that at a rate of $150/hour we would still be faced with a rather large bill at the end of the day.
However, little did we know that the trucker we had hired was actually an angel in disguise. Nearly nine hours later when all the hay was finally unloaded and we were ready for the bill, the trucker uttered the words; “Don’t worry about it. I’ll get ya next time”. In the end, Alen Lindquist from T.A. Ferguson generously donated his time and gas in transporting the hay and didn’t charge the rescue a penny!!
Thank you Al & T.A. Ferguson for Donating the Trucking!!
And a very special thank you goes out to all the volunteers for helping move the hay!! It was a long hard day for everyone and your efforts were greatly appreciated. Without you guys, this project would not have been possible.
Thank You to Everyone that Helped Out!!!
