Summer Fun At The Barn Begins!

Hello friends!

June is upon us and we are still catching our breath from a very happy, busy May! We had a fantastic turn out for our three separate school field trips and everyone, including the animals, had a wonderful time. We are so thankful to the volunteers who helped make these days so successful, and to the teachers, parents, and children who gave us their time and attentiveness. The children participated in a variety of interactive activities while here including learning about recycling with some hands on exercises, grooming the animals, reading to the animals (one of the animals favorite parts), and more. We made a lot of new friends and hopefully the children will continue to build on what they learned about the animals and recycling while they were here.

This month we are gearing up for our inaugural “Our Sustainable World Film Festival” https://www.facebook.com/events/1048752108552215/ that will be taking place Sunday, July 24 at 1:15 PM- 10 PM at The Oriental Theater in Denver. Through June 16 (or while supplies last) we will have a limited number of Film Festival t-shirts for sale. They feature our unspoken team mascot on the front, Bodhi! The artwork is from local artists here in Colorado and proceeds will go to Project:Thrive. There are a variety of colors to choose from and only a limited time to order, so hurry and get yours today! You will be the talk of the town in this one of a kind wearable piece of artwork all while promoting a wonderful cause. We hope you will also be able to join us for the festival in July; you can even wear your shirt! Bodhi would be quite proud. For more information and to purchase your shirt please go to: https://www.booster.com/projecthrive .

We have another event coming up in early July that we are all a MOO about. Pet Painting for Project Thrive will take place July 14^th from 6 PM – 9:30 PM at Lil’ Angel, 1014 S. Gaylord Street, Denver, CO 80209. Come paint a picture of your favorite pet, or even one of the furry members of Project:Thrive, while sipping on wine and munching on yummy snacks in great company! Call Lil’ Angel (303-777-0224) to sign up today! When registering, please use code: Project Thrive. A deposit of $10 will be due at the time of registration with $50 due at the event (total cost is $60.00). Bring a photo of the pet you would like to paint. Draw and paint instructions, all supplies, snacks, and wine will be provided. Space is very limited. This event is brought to you by the generosity of: Lil’ Angel Pet Boutique and Gallery (www.lilangelpetboutique.com ) and Muddy Paws Bath House (www.muddypawsbathhouse.com ).

Our animal spotlight this month is on Augie the Goat! He is such a character. When visitors come by he is one of the first to the gate to say hello. Once you make your way onto the pasture you can count on many nuzzles from this silly little guy. He is a people “person” and he just loves attention. Give him some cuddles and you have a lifelong friend. Augie loves to explore and can be found in some pretty bizarre places, including curled up snoozing in the feed tray (to the surprise of his brothers and sisters). Augie is similar to that one friend we all have who has the best sense of humor and can always find a way to make you smile. Augie is pictured above during a reading session with one of the students from our recent field trips and he loves being read to! Thank you Augie for being the class clown and for always bringing us a smile or two, or three.

Have you ever thought you might want to be a part of what Project:Thrive is doing but maybe you live too far away to volunteer? Maybe you have thought about contributing in some way but you aren’t sure how? Well, many of our sweet furry friends are still in need of monthly sponsors! For as little as $15/per month you can make an enormous difference in the lives of these animals. Every penny of your monthly donation goes towards fulfilling the needs of your animal of choice. It is a fun and inexpensive way to know you are making a compassionate difference in the life of one of these sweet souls. Perhaps you have a great sense of humor and you can identify with Augie the goat! He would love to have you as a sponsor! Whichever animal speaks to you, there is an opportunity for sponsorship (sponsorship amounts vary by animal). To read about the animals we have available for sponsorship and to sign up today for monthly donations please go here to find out more: http://www.projectthrivelocal2global.org/rescues.html .

As always, we appreciate you all for your continued support and kindness. Thank you for continuing to spread the word about Project: Thrive and for making us a part of your world. If you are new to the Project: Thrive family, you can find out more about who we are and what we strive for here: http://www.projectthrivelocal2global.org/index.html .

With gratitude,

Project: Thrive

Bodhi's New Friend

 

Hello friends!

May is gearing up to be a very thrilling month here at Project: Thrive and we are getting ready for quite an eventful summer as well! The excitement is building and we hope you can be a part of some of the wonderful activities we have coming up.

We have three big Kindness Camps/Field Trips booked and we are in need of additional volunteers who are interested in helping teach the children about compassion, kindness, and responsible living through learning about and interacting with the animals. The camps are currently scheduled for May 16, May 24, and June 2. If you have some time to spare and would like to participate with any, or all, of these wonderful days just let us know and we will get you set up. The animals would love to see you too!

If you haven’t heard the big news, tickets for our inaugural “Our Sustainable World Film Festival” are on sale now! The festival is being held Sunday, July 24 at 1:15pm – 10:00pm at The Oriental Theater located at 4334 W 44^th Ave, Denver, Colorado 80212. Films to be shown during Our Sustainable World Film Festival are by some of the most talented, innovative film makers in the industry. Our line-up includes: Revolution, Cowspiracy: The Sustainability Secret, Baraka: A World Beyond Words, and Racing Extinction. Musical entertainment for the evening will be provided by Kristi Stice and Gypsy Swing Revue. For more information including how to purchase tickets for this one of a kind occasion, please visit: https://www.facebook.com/events/1048752108552215/ . This is the start of a beautiful tradition and we would love for you to be a part of it!

We feel so completely honored to have been one of 6 nonprofits featured in the 2015 Annual Report of the Nonprofits Insurance Alliance Group. What wonderful exposure for the work we are trying to do here at Project: Thrive! We hope you will take a moment to read the article that we are so proud of. Have a look here: 2015 Annual Report of the Nonprofits Insurance Alliance Group. Our story can be found on page 16 of the report. Very exciting, indeed.

Our animal spotlight this month is on our Bodhi Boy, pictured above. Consider this your moment of Moo. We gave Bodhi a new toy recently and little did we know how much he would love his new friend, the giant inflatable green ball. Bodhi will not part with his ball and he pushes it around with his nose and gives it big kisses too. The other day we watched as he was chasing it around in the high winds like a puppy chasing a tennis ball. The other night we noticed he was in the pasture standing over his ball trying to nudge it around and play. To his dismay and bewilderment, it was half deflated and wasn’t budging. He kept looking up in an attempt to get something done immediately about his deflated friend and couldn’t understand why we didn’t jump to his attention after several pleading moos. Well, it was late and after the chores of the barn and getting everyone settled for the evening we just didn’t have time to help his green friend before locking up and turning in for the evening. The next morning there Bodhi was laying out in the field with his goat and sheep siblings and the big green, now fully deflated, ball. He looked so sad that we couldn’t delay any longer. We finally brought his green ball friend back to life and all was right in the world of Bodhi once more. 

Thank you all so very much for all that you do to support our sweet sanctuary. We appreciate every single effort and hope you will continue to spread the word so that we may continue to grow and help even more children and animals through our combined work.

With much gratitude,

Project: Thrive

The Rainbow Bridge

It is with heavy hearts we share the news that we recently lost three very special souls here at the barn. Our sweet blogging chicken, Little, along with two of her duck friends, Lulu and Minnie, were victims of a fox attack. The attacks occurred during the day and we were quick to discover that the culprit was a very sick young fox who was in desperate need of medical care. The fox returned to the barn a few days later and we were able to detain her and take her to a nearby wildlife refuge. They were able to aid in her recovery and she will be returned to the wild in another location. Though we are deeply devastated over our losses, our hearts are filled knowing we were able to save Ms. Fox. We do everything in our power daily to protect the sweet souls here at the barn but sometimes in life the unexpected happens, much to our dismay.

Little, Lulu, and Minnie enjoyed a very happy life here at Project:Thrive and they brought us much joy while they were with us. Little was starting to take the world by storm with her blog and we know that she would want us to pick up where she left off and continue her journey. We will continue to blog our latest news, upcoming events, and recent happenings here with the animals to keep you updated and informed. Little would have wanted it that way.

Thank you all for your continued support and encouragement, we appreciate it more than you could ever know.  

Project:Thrive

Will you be my Valentine?

Hello all of my sweet Valentines!

Well, I don’t know about you but this little chicken has been very busy! So much going on at the barn these days. Just the other day there was the Super Bowl which I thought meant my dinner was going to be presented in a super big bowl, but it wasn’t. Evidently it was some kind of game between a horse and a big cat. Mom told us the horse won. That doesn’t surprise me though because Roja, my horse sister here at the barn is very strong and big, but also very gentle. She can run really fast though. So, that is all I know about all of that. I like cats and horses.

We had a lot of snow not too long ago and it makes it hard for a little chicken with little legs to get very far. Mom shoveled me a path so I could get around to see my friends, so that was very nice. I like the snow. I enjoy catching snowflakes on my beak and making chicken snow angles too! What is your most favorite thing about snow? Perhaps one day I will learn how to ski. I bet I would surprise a lot of people coming down the slopes!

Guess what? We have a new friend visiting at the barn! She is furry like my other brothers and sisters, she likes hay, and she is big and likes to run around the pasture. She is not human. She is a horse! Just like Roja. Her name is Grey but we call her Greycie because she is so pretty and graceful. Her human friends that she used to stay with needed some help caring for her so my mom brought her in to play with us for a while. We are so excited. Roja and Greycie have become the best of friends. Everyone here at the barn loves her. One time Bodhi was trying to eat her hay and Greycie told him real quick that wasn’t ok so he mooed and moooooved along. She is a little scared of the ducks when they waddle towards her, which I think is so silly! It is so much fun having her here. It is like having a slumber party every night. She likes when the volunteers come to visit because everyone wants to brush her and love on her. We know how to make someone feel welcome here at Project: Thrive!

My New Year’s Resolution of getting 10,000 likes to our Facebook page is moving right along. Thank you to every single one of you who invited your friends to like us! We have had several hundred new friends join us and I will tell you what, it sure does make a chicken feel good! Those of you that still want to play along and help us out, just click on the left hand side of our page where it says “Invite friends to like this page” and you can choose who you want to send the invitation to. Isn’t that the most fun you have ever had? Let’s see how many we can get this month!

We also have a very exciting crowd funding happening for about another month or so. Basically, Bodhi Boy is enormous and though he thinks he is a lap dog, he is just too big to sit in a car with his head out the window. So, we really need a trailer to transport him and my bigger brothers and sisters to the vet when they need to go. So many human friends have already donated and every little bit helps! If you or someone you know can help we would really appreciate it! You can go here http://www.loveanimals.org/farm/a-trailer-for-bodhi.html to find out more and donate if you can! Even just sharing the information with your friends is a big deal and we appreciate it tremendously.

We are always looking for volunteers and my brothers and sisters could all use sponsors too! We are all able to be here safe and warm because of people like YOU! So thank you, thank you for all of your love and support. If you are new to the Project: Thrive family and want to know more about my home and what goes on here at the barn, you can find lots of fun facts and information here http://www.projectthrivelocal2global.org/index.html.  I think the most important thing to mention though is that if you volunteer at the barn you get to see ME! That is kind of a big deal. Just sayin’.

That is all for now. I have included a picture of me and my sister Pearl. She was trying to teach me how to fly in this picture by nudging me off of my perch. It didn’t work. Oh well, I will keep trying! I hope you all enjoy your February and I will pop back by again in March with some fun updates. Thank you for supporting my chicken blog and for loving Project: Thrive as much as I do!

Sending you all so much love, cluck, cluck, cluck-

Little x 

A Very Special New Year's Resolution, From a Chicken.

Hello friends!

Did you miss me? I sure have missed all of you. My last blog was a rip roaring success thanks to all of your likes, so here I am again! I hope you all had a wonderful holiday season. Mine was fantastic! I must admit that my fuzzy pants are fitting a bit tighter but that’s quite alright. Have you made your New Year’s Resolutions yet? What are they? I told mom that mine was going to be to get our Facebook page to 10,000 likes! She said that might be a bit of a lofty goal for a little chicken and that maybe we should go for 5,000 to start with. That sounds reasonable. I will need your help though; are you up for the challenge? All you need to do is invite all of your friends on Facebook to like our page. That’s it! Super easy! I love our little sanctuary and I want the whole world to know about us. Plus, any friends of yours would be wonderful friends to have, so won’t you send them our way? Our goal is 5,000 likes (10,000 really but don’t tell mom) so let’s see how close we can get! On your mark….get set….GO!!!!

Big thanks to everyone who purchased a 2016 calendar and to those who sent us gifts from our wish list. You probably don’t realize what a huge, wonderful impact that made. I told mom that we must have sold so many calendars because I promoted them in my last blog. I am a celebrity now you know. Either way, we sure do appreciate your support, it means the world to us! Some of my brothers and sisters even had people step forward who want to sponsor them! Can you believe it? You should have heard everyone carrying on at the barn when we found out. Bodhi was mooing (trying to bark) and kicking his feet up dancing, Roja was running in circles with excitement, and the goats were jumping for joy! It was a little scary for us little folk. You haven’t lived until you have a 2000lb bovine dancing around in your pasture! We were all very excited though and we feel so much loved. Thank you all again. 2015 was such a great year to be a chicken; I can’t wait to see what 2016 brings. If you are interested in finding out more about my home, purchasing a calendar, purchasing something from our wish list, or sponsoring one of us, you can find all of the information here: http://www.projectthrivelocal2global.org/ .

We have some very, very, very exciting things coming up at Project: THRIVE in the spring, but I can’t tell you what they are just yet. Stay tuned and we will let you know all the details as soon as we can! In the interim, I wanted to share this very special video with you: ttps://youtu.be/_rTuCFsMxAc  This is a heartwarming story of a very good friend of mine. He had a rough start in life, just like me, but he is doing so much better now. I think this is the best story ever of how animals are good for your soul. As a chicken, I think humans are good for our souls too because there is nothing like a hug from a human (especially the ones you call children). This story reinforces the power of love and compassion and we love every time Dre comes to visit us here at the barn. It may seem that we animals are just standing around eating hay and lazily enjoying the day, but we are also doing very important work here at Project:THRIVE. We are changing lives one moo, oink, cluck, whinny, Baaaaa, at a time!

Well, I suppose that is enough excitement for one day. Thank you again for all that you do for us here at Project:THRIVE! We really do love each and every one of you. Don’t forget to invite your friends to come play and like us on Facebook; 5,000 likes (10,000 really) or bust! WE can do it!!!!

With lots of love, cluck, cluck, cluck,

Little x

Chicken + Computer = Chicken Blogger!

Hello friends,

Let me introduce myself, my name is Chicken Little (I am a chicken and I am little, get it?). Everyone just calls me Little. Sometimes people call me Fuzzy Pants because I always have my fuzzy pants on, but generally I go by Little. I live here at Project:THRIVE! with all of the other rescue animals that are loved and cared for here. My mom (she is a human like you, not a chicken- I am adopted which mom says makes me even more special) asked me if I could put together a little blog to get the word out about what is happening here at the sanctuary each month. I always wanted my own TV show and I figured this was the next best thing, so I agreed. Doesn’t that just make you want to get up and do the Chicken Dance? Very exciting indeed. I had mom take a picture of me so you can get to know me better. I am quite cute on my little pedestal, aren’t I?

Most days at the barn are pretty fun. My brothers and sisters are all different and unique in their own way. Mom, who is also our founder, is usually pretty busy keeping our bellies full and our beds nice and warm for us. It is a really big job, not because of me since I am just little, but Bodhi the Bovine is ginormous! Boy can he eat! Bodhi makes me laugh because he thinks he is a dog. I have heard him try to bark before but it always comes out as a moo. Luckily for you humans, he doesn’t think he is a lap dog! He is super cuddly though and likes to give big kisses. For me, that usually takes care of my bath for the week.

We have lots of friends that come and visit and help out when they can. Mom calls them our friends but I think the official word is Volunteers. Mom says they are very, very, special humans and we all get really excited when they come. All of the donkey girls, Violet the pig, Bodhi, Roja the horse, the goats and sheep, the chickens, and even Beatrix the bunny start singing out and dancing when our friends arrive because we know we are going to get extra lovin’ and cuddles. Sometimes we even get treats! Volunteers are some of my favorite humans, especially the little ones you call children. Sometimes I will go up to someone and do a little dance with my wings spread out. This is my way of asking to be picked up and be cuddled. I am so cute that it works every time!

This is a truly wonderful time to start a blog and I am going to tell you why; recently we all posed for our pictures to be taken. We didn’t know why at the time but the news is out and the excitement is building! Our very special friends at Muddy Paws Dog Grooming in Denver, CO put together a 2016 calendar and we are the guests of honor!!!! Can you believe it? Twelve months of absolute cuteness coming your way just in time for the holidays! You can go here: http://www.projectthrivelocal2global.org/donate.html#calendar if you want to buy one for yourself or one for all of your friends, neighbors, and people you meet each day! All of the proceeds go directly back to me! Well, not only me, I have to share with my brothers and sisters too. Roja the horse always says “Hay doesn’t grow on trees you know”, so I imagine a lot of the proceeds will go to getting lots of yummy hay for my siblings and to help Project:THRIVE! continue to be the most beautiful, safe, loving, place in the whole wide world. Thank you in advance for supporting us, even if you can help spread the word about us that is worth tons! 

Well, I think this is enough excitement for one day. My beak is getting pretty tired from typing and mom just brought me some noodles that look a lot like worms so I am going to go and chow down, and then maybe take a nap. I have to rest up if I am going to be the most famous blogging chicken in the world! If you want to learn more about my home and what we do here, you can check out the website for Project:THRIVE! here: http://www.projectthrivelocal2global.org/index.html.

With lots of love, cluck, cluck, cluck-

Little x

Henry the hatchling sparrow is starting a family!

Well, two nights ago, Henry came over at dusk which is very unusual. He comes every morning about 2 times or more on the weekends when I am home.  But two nights ago he came at dusk, had a snack then (for the first time) crawled into the house I put up for him the day he flew off!  He stayed in there until we went inside for the night about 2 hours later.  Today in the early afternoon I saw him and a friend in the tree where I feed him and where his little house is. They both had pieces of hay in their mouths!  Henry took his into the house but the other one flew away when he/she saw me!!!   

I am thinking that Henry may be Henrietta and may be getting a home ready!!!!!!!!!  To be continued…