There are so many ways to help support the work being done here at the ranch! Here are just a few of the ways you can help us continue to build and maintain the many programs we offer, free of charge, to all who come:
First, and most importantly, pray for us! This ranch belongs entirely to the Lord, and we desire to move forward, in all we do, based on how He provides and leads us. Pray for the children we mentor, for their families, and for the difficult seasons they are navigating through. Pray for our horses. For their health, strength for the work they do, and the unique way they connect and show unconditional love to every child. Pray for us all, to have wisdom and discernment, to develop ways to better serve every person who comes to the ranch looking for hope.
Since this is all about #GivingTuesday, you have a special opportunity to help support us financially. There are so many costs involved, just for the daily maintenance, care, and feeding of our horses and livestock. There are monthly and quarterly hoof and medical care costs, tack and equipment to repair, to maintain or replace, and there are emergency vet bills. (Horses are surprisingly delicate creatures, and they delight in finding bizarre new ways to injure themselves or become ill.) Our horses are looking for sponsors and I have it straight from the horses’ mouths, they love to send thank you cards and annual updates to all their sponsors! You can learn more about becoming a sponsor by clicking here.
We also dream of adding more horses to our herd, so we can serve more children. The very special horses who can do this work aren’t easy to find, and when they are, they are not inexpensive. Your gift can make this dream come true.
Then there’s the ranch itself. We are working to become a model of sustainable agriculture. Some of our children are less interested in horses than in learning new skills and competence in doing ranch projects and farming. Your financial gift can go toward future projects such as:
- Building a forced-air composting system.
- Building a permanent greenhouse where children can plant seeds and watch them grow.
Additional infrastructure projects needed include:
- Building a hay cover for both our ranch-grown hay, and to allow us to buy and store additional hay when prices are best.
- Building corrals and shade covers for those additional horses we’d like to add to our herd.
- Building a large, dedicated, tack room closer to our primary paddocks.
- It gets mighty hot out here for our children’s parents and siblings too! Your gift can help us build a playground and benches, under our shady grandfather oak tree overlooking the arena.
- We’d also like to build a pergola, with swings, around our firepit for movie nights and marshmallow roasts under the stars.
Finally, please consider giving us the gift of your time. You don’t have to make an ongoing commitment. Just an hour or two on one of our Saturday workdays makes a huge difference! You don’t have to have any special skills; we’ll give you work gloves and all the instructions you need. Not up to physical labor? How about joining our food team and helping at special events? Or distributing water to the work crews? Perhaps you’re a gardener who’d like to help fight community food insecurity by helping in our extensive garden. And if you’re housebound, you can still participate in the mission to spread God’s love to hurting children, and their families, through vital phone and written work.
Finally, if you’re a member of a church or civic group that is looking for a project, either ongoing or one-time, we’d love to schedule a group volunteer opportunity! If you’d like our founders to visit your group and do a presentation, they’re delighted to do that.
On this Giving Tuesday, and always, everyone can contribute, and every contribution is valuable and appreciated at Mercy Spring Ranch! Thank you and God bless you.
If you’d like to support MSR during Giving Tuesday, by volunteering, supporting one of our horses, or financially supporting our program, click here for more information.
