Safekeepers - Volunteers Transform Lives

As I enter the barn for the Holiday Open House at Save a Forgotten Equine (SAFE), I hear them calling for "safekeepers" to be photographed with mini horses, Sunny and Shasta. After the group of people disperse, I ask a volunteer, "what is a safekeeper? " I find out that these volunteers make an automatic monthly donation to a rescued horse, no matter how small the amount.

In my 2.5 hour visit, I spoke to a few volunteers and walked the property to meet all the horses. Each horse has a sign with their name, breed, intake date, date of birth and their personal story of how they came to SAFE and where they are on their journey to find a permanent home. Every volunteer that I spoke to was clearly passionate to work there and had their own stories of transformation to tell. Some volunteers had previous horse experience, some did not.

SAFE cares for anywhere from 28-30 horses at one time. They rely on volunteers to help manage the care, feeding, rehabilitation, training, fostering, site visits and finding the right fit for prospective adopters. SAFE also hosts training clinics with well known trainers like Joel Conner from Eastern Washington. These clinics are open to the public to audit.

Finding a permanent home is not the end of the relationship. SAFE keeps in touch with adopters and the alumni SAFE horses. All horses can be found at this link: Meet the SAFE Horses. They even have an alumni program where they have follow up checks on how their alums are doing. This spoke volumes to me about what a special organization this is.

Does this sound like a lot? It is.

I asked Executive Director, Bonnie Hammond, what she would want someone to know about the organization. Bonnie could not have been more enthusiastic about the wonderful community of volunteers and all that they do. From turnouts, feeding, cleaning, training, bringing them back into the stable, 9:30 p.m. night checks -- there are SAFE volunteers literally working around the clock. After speaking to Bonnie I thought of the phrase "the shadow of a leader". An organization's employees (in this case volunteers) emulate their leader. My impression is that Bonnie Hammond does not cast a shadow, she casts a bright light and a beacon of hope. She is always looking for more volunteers.

SAFE is a place of guardians, protectors -"safekeepers". Each rescue has not a person, but a community of volunteers cheering for them and loving them while at SAFE and beyond. If you would like to volunteer and join this amazing community at SAFE, check out: Volunteering at SAFE or email volunteer@safehorses.org