We've got a special New Year's message for you from Goatlandia's founder, Deborah Blum (and Ollie the goat):
It's a Brand New Year! And with every New Year comes the New Year’s Resolution. Do you have one? I do, and I’ll share it with you later.
What is a resolution? A resolution is simply defined as “the act of finding an answer or solution to a conflict, problem, etc.”.
A New Year’s Resolution doesn’t have to be about losing five pounds, or getting more organized, or saving money. Those are all great things to do, but let’s take a fresh perspective on this idea of “resolution”. Let’s look outside ourselves this year. Let’s find a problem around us and let’s fix it. Let’s make the world a better place, starting with our own little corner of it.
With your support, Goatlandia identified needs in the community, and we found solutions and solved problems. We helped the animals, the people, and the planet.
• Through our animal rescue work, we’ve saved hundreds of animal lives, and helped rescue many hundreds more from disasters including fires and floods.
• Through our food events and programs, we’ve fed delicious vegan food to thousands of people, and created healthier & happier humans in the process! (and created quite a few vegans!)
• We’ve lifted the spirits of disabled children and adults in the community simply by sharing the unconditional love and gentle touch of animals with them through our animal therapy program.
• Through our sanctuary visits and tours, we’ve shown people the enormous power of love and compassion - the power to heal every one of us, human and animal; physically, spiritually and emotionally. We’ve inspired people to be kinder to others, including animals.
• We’ve helped the planet by teaching our volunteers, visitors and friends about all the ways we can help Mother Earth; from eating vegan to composting waste, from grey water reclamation to rainwater capture, and even using toothpaste tablets and detergent sheets!
We did this with you, and we thank you! Every dollar donated to Goatlandia goes to help us do this important work. We may be small here at Goatlandia, but we work hard, we love hard, and we are so grateful to all of you for sharing our vision of a kinder world. All of you, the Goatlandia family of friends, supporters, donors, colleagues, co-workers, volunteers, all of you have been helping us make our collective corner of the world a better place.
So what’s your New Year’s Resolution?
Mine is this: To strive to become a better person, so that I can better serve our mission. I want to look outside of myself more, for I already have all that I really need. To worry less about my own wants and needs, and to be fulfilled by the act of giving and helping. I want to listen more to others, to feel more for others, and to give more to others. Just as an athlete trains for a sport, I want to train myself to be an even better advocate for kindness, and to be a more empathetic and open-hearted soul. Remain curious, listen to others, and seek for ways to make their lives better. And in doing so, we enrich our own.
At Goatlandia, our goal for 2022 is to continue to look to the community and see how we can meet needs, solve problems, reduce conflict, and spread peace, health and love. Thank you for being on this journey with us, for helping make all this happen. We hope you’ll join us again in 2022 as we move forward and upward, in this new fresh beautiful start of a year.
“All advocacy is, at its core, an exercise in empathy.” ~ Samantha Power
With love, empathy and gratitude,
Deborah