Last Wednesday, TWC set out on our annual volunteer day. In the past we’ve typically spent our volunteer day mornings picking crops and preparing plant beds for Earth’s Table. This year, the team got down and dirty with horned and hooved friends at Luvin Arms Animal Sanctuary. Luvin Arms is a 501(c)3 nonprofit located in Erie, Colorado. The sanctuary opened its doors in August 2015 after founders Shaleen and Shilpi Shah crossed paths with farmed animals in need of refuge from degrading and violent situations. The sanctuary operates on the core principle of “Ahimsa” – nonviolence toward all living beings.
We arrived at the farm promptly at 8:00am to meet with Kelly Nix, Humane Educator and Outreach Coordinator. We were introduced to the sanctuary’s residents and heard their stories, then got to work with pitchforks and brooms in hand to clean out the main barn housing the sanctuary’s sheep, goat, and pig residents and lay down fresh, new bedding for them.
After a quick stop for lunch, we headed to Louisville for the afternoon to lend a hand sorting eggs for Community Food Share, which celebrated its 40th anniversary fighting hunger in Boulder and Broomfield Counties just last year. Volunteers rescue approximately 14 tons of food per day (that’s enough food for 30,000 meals), then distribute it through a network of more than 40 local non-profit organizations.
Rescued staples such as eggs are considered high priority for distribution, as they are in danger of going bad if not sorted and refrigerated within a few days of arrival at the warehouse facility. In three and a half hours, TWC successfully sorted 415 pounds of eggs (approx. 3,300 eggs). According to Myra, that’s nearly 20,790 grams of protein!
Great work, team! To learn more about the organizations TWC volunteered at this year, check out their websites at the links below: