Rock Haven: Business Start Up

$550 donated

Given by 3 generous donors in one year

I need some help starting up my business! Rock Haven is an animal rescue and place for people to come and experience peace and healing.

Otago

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Dear potential supporter,

Thank you so much for clicking on this link. The fact that you are on this site alone tells me you have a generous heart.

My name is Kim, I am 25 years old and I am going through the process of starting my own business, Rock Haven, in Dunedin, New Zealand. I need some help to get started, as I am currently working full time, caring for my two horses, and squeezing in time to plan and build connections that will launch Rock Haven off the ground.

A bit about Rock Haven:

Mission:

To provide a safe haven where people and animals can experience hope and healing in Otago.

Vision:

To educate the community about humane and ethical treatment of animals, and see a reduction in animal abuse.

To see more people come to know the saving grace and healing love of Jesus Christ, and a reduction in people suffering from mental illness, and feeling lost or disconnected in our community.

What service will Rock Haven provide for the Dunedin community?

Rock Haven will work alongside the community (i.e. connecting with animal welfare organisations, schools, churches, family welfare and support organisations) and advocate and educate about animal welfare, and provide a unique form of counseling/mental health support through one-on-one mentoring (one mentor, one child, one horse/animal), camps, and group programs that are tailored to the needs of the individual.

Why am I crowdfunding?

Rock Haven is my dream coming true. Right now I am in the planning stage, and I need some more funds to get started and save for land to home more animals. Currently there is enough room for my two horses on family land, but there is not much breathing room and so feed bills are pretty high to give the horses the nutrition they need. Long Term, once Rock Haven is launched and supporting itself, I aim to create Rock Haven Trust. Rock Haven Trust will become the place where donations can be received and those who cannot afford to participate will be sponsored into the Rock Haven program so that no one will be excluded because of financial circumstances.

Use of funds

1. Purchase of animals.

2. Care of animals.

3. Business start up costs.

Latest update

Horses settling in, take #2 3 December 2020

*last update was a mess, here is more what it was meant to be :

Horses have settled in really well here and it's been a busy few months of getting to know them, gaining condition, a health surprise for Acorn, and adjusting to managing horses on smaller land at a time where feed is harder to come by.

Dennis has personality and sass for miles, he is friendly, jealous of any attention/food, playful, and a little bit cheeky and troublesome in the cutest ways.

Acorn is more hesitant around New people - she played hard to catch for a couple of days at the start. Now of course she is always trotting up first (Dennis is the boss so knows he can take his time and push her out of the way). Acorn also didn't let me pick up her hind feet, which, alongside the hard-to-catch thing rang of distrust. After some discussion, bodywork, and a vet call it turns out she has been experiencing a lot of pain with arthritis (which the previous owner was unaware of). Supplements, natural based feeding, a vet visit, veterinary supplements, and now regular medication (via injection) later Acorn is improving. It's been a slow journey, as she had no trust with her hind feet for trimming/hoof picking, and her last trim she was much more settled and allowed her hind to be lifted and held!

The next step for Rock Haven is searching for ways to manage the property to allow more people to come and engage with the horses safely. Also, looking for more land as the grass has quickly been gobbled up and these horses are precariously holding weight even with hard feeds and constant hay/balage access.

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