If you’re a Cleveland artist, author or musician, please do consider making a donation of one of your pieces of work to a local animal rescue that’s currently planning a spring “Art, Music and Books” fundraiser. Yep….there are lots of great causes in the area, lots of artsy fundraisers….we “starving artists” can’t donate to them all. Right there with you on that one.

But I am making a donation of one of my wares to the Happy Trails Farm Animal Sanctuary, and here’s why.  Happy Trails serves an animal population that is overlooked, animals such as goats, cows, horses, sheep, ducks and the like. They serve all of Ohio and, as far as I know, they’re the only animal rescue in the state (and one of few in the nation) that addresses the needs of animals that wouldn’t be able to be placed at traditional dog-and-cat rescues. They work to rescue and rehabilitate abandoned, abused and neglected animals, then adopt them out to loving, safe homes.

Over the past 13 years, Happy Trails Farm has helped more than 3,000 animals. Check out some of their amazing success stories at their website. (I especially love the story of  Odessa the goat, who now visits schools and nursing homes as a Happy Trails Farm ambassador.)

Where we artists (and authors and musicians) come in is by donating a piece of art, writing or music to Happy Trails Farm for their March 9 fundraiser. They sell our stuff and get money to continue the fantastic work they do, sweet and simple as that.

Do hope that you Cleveland artists (and animal lovers) will consider this one….it’s the proverbial great cause. Me, I’m giving them a cheese board that I recently made and know that whatever money it brings in will be used toward feed or sleeping bags or crates or hay or….you get the idea.

Cheese Board = Feed?

For info on donating, you can call Happy Trails Farm at 330-296-5914 or email them at annette@happytrailsfarm.org. Executive Director Annette Fisher or one of the volunteers will walk you through the process. They’ll even help make it easy for you by offering to have one of their volunteers pick up your donation. Couldn’t be any easier than that!