For 35 years the Beacon Hill Children’s Farm in Victoria has put smiles on the faces of thousands of kids and given families a fun day out.
This year, however, it’s all been put on hold as COVID-19 surges through the province. For the little farm, there’s no telling when, or if, they’ll re-open.
“If we don’t have this vaccine coming through, I think it would be very difficult,” said Lynda Koenders, who owns the farm with her husband Dennis.
The two were only able to open the farm for six days this year back in March before the virus forced them to shut things down. They operate on a donation-only basis, and going months with no cash coming in has been devastating.
“Everybody loves this farm and we’ve brought so much joy to so many people and to not have people coming in the farm this year and enjoying the animals gets us down sometimes,” said Dennis.
To help avoid permanent closure, they’ll need some help. The duo have now launched a sponsorship program where you can make a donation and sponsor an animal. The funds will go towards things like food and medical care.
It’s a great gift for anyone who loves animals and would be a unique gift to find under the tree for many kids.
“If people are able to afford to be able to do these sponsorships that’s awesome, but if they can’t, just their support and emails or going on Facebook and liking our pages is a great thing too,” Lynda said.
It’s another community staple brought to the brink of closure by the pandemic, making local support more crucial than ever.
“We have to support our local businesses, otherwise they won’t be here,” said Lynda.
If you’d like to sponsor an animal or give the gift of sponsorship to someone in your life, you can visit the Beacon Hill Children’s Farm website.
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Ben Nesbit
