2022 Year in Review

Phew! What an amazing year! We're delighted to share this collection of piggy happenings and events that kept our little microsanctuary running all year. Jenna and Friends Animal Sanctuary (JAFAS) is our little slice of heaven, and if you’re reading this, you are part of this great story! Whether you donated through one of our fundraisers, came out to volunteer one Saturday morning, or follow us on social media, we are so glad you are a member of our little piggy family. 

Four new rescued pigs!

This year, we rescued Martin, Tabitha, Gregory, and Bella! The sights and sounds that these four sweethearts bring to our little microsanctuary is so heartwarming. We have four more shining faces to greet us every morning, four new oinking and squealing sounds to add to the usual cacophony of sanctuary noises (especially at feeding time), and above all, four new beautiful souls that will never have to worry about food and shelter ever again. They are now part of a loving herd that they can call their forever family.

New pig sponsorship pages

You can now sponsor individual pigs at JAFAS! Thanks to Kerry Thompson (our amazing web designer), we've made it really simple on our website. Just navigate to the Become a Sponsor page to read more about the program and how to get started. Each pig has a dedicated sponsorship page where you can read his/her rescue story and sign up for recurring donations. 

Need some incentive? When you donate $50 or more a month, you'll receive a certificate of sponsorship with a photo of the pig with his or her rescue story. And when you donate $100 or more a month, you'll receive the certificate PLUS an 8" x 8" canvas print that you can proudly display on your wall. 

JAFAS t-shirts are here!

Want a comfy blue-denim t-shirt to show your support of our important mission here at JAFAS? We just got our first delivery from 4imprint, and they are awesome! We have three different sizes - medium, large, and extra large. To order one, send us a message through our contact form or email us directly at jennaandfriendsanimalsanctuary@gmail.com.

Handy Randy is our sanctuary rock star!

Have you ever told someone you don’t know how you could possibly live without him? We sound like a broken record, because we say this to Randy Mapes every single day. If you’ve followed us on social media or been fortunate enough to come out to visit the animals, you’ve probably met Randy, our sanctuary handyman extraordinaire. He fixes all kinds of things, designs and builds piggie houses, puts up fencing, hangs heat lamps, hauls food and straw, and transports rescued pigs - just to name a few of his many talents. He even built us an outhouse for volunteers! His goal is to stay one step ahead of Petey the farm pig, and we know that's no easy feat!

Randy is a true angel delivered to us directly from heaven. When he's not here at the sanctuary, you can find him helping others at church or talking to people about the healing powers of pigs and nature and how he's transformed his life from a near death experience (stay tuned for his upcoming book!). Randy is a blessing to the planet earth, and if you ever get a chance to meet his smiling face, you will be forever changed for the better. 

Insanely awesome food donations

We appreciate each and every food donation to the pigs, but we just have to mention these three insanely awesome ones! 

• Weaver Street Market at Southern Village provides ongoing weekly donations of produce to us. Kyle, Lydia, Stephen, Ian, Lynn, Sue, and the rest of their staff are always so enthusiastic about helping the animals, are we are so grateful! 
• Can you believe that Piedmont Feed and Garden Center donated 410 pumpkins to the pigs this year? It took about three weeks for the pigs to eat them all, but they did it! Of course Petey the farm pig alone probably ate half of them!
• Thank you to ARCO Design/Build in Raleigh for donating 2000 lbs of uncooked pasta after a hilarious office prank. We cook it and mix it in with the food pellets twice a day. The piggies just love pasta, and it's so warm and filling on these cold winter days!

Little Martin went to college for a day

In the spring semester, the UNC Vegans for Peace held an awesome tabling event in the pit of the UNC campus, talking to passersby about animal-related issues, including the impact of animal agriculture and factory farming on our health and environment. We brought little Martin so students could meet a real-life pig and see for themselves his wonderful personality. Martin even got to meet some basketball players! Go Tar Heels!

Too many visitors and volunteers to count!

Just about every Saturday morning in 2022, we hosted groups of visitors and volunteers of all ages who came out to meet the pigs and help with small chores. Many of these folks have come back multiple times throughout the year to help out with various projects or just visit with the pigs (we call it pig therapy!) We even had a visit from a bunch of nice folks from Christ United Methodist Church in Chapel Hill. A special shout-out goes to the UNC Vegans for Peace for continuing to come out regularly to socialize with the pigs and support our little sanctuary in the woods!

Fundraisers keep us going

We received generous donations from over 14 fundraising campaigns this year, including several Facebook birthday fundraisers started by our supporters (Melissa Woodbury, Laurie Sharkey, Kathy Ford, Randy Mapes, and Geretia Long Lomeli) and a fundraising event that Viscious Fishes hosted last summer where they donated proceeds from sales of beer and t-shirts to JAFAS. 

Petey is an official mascot at Hooray Foods!

When Deeksha Mittal from Hooray Foods approached us about using Petey’s face and rescue story on some of their marketing collateral, we didn’t have to think twice. We are thrilled to help them get the word out about the plight of farm pigs who suffer so miserably in the hog industry. We can choose not to support the suffering by switching to cruelty-free (and delicious!) alternatives like Hooray Foods plant-based bacon. 

The only problem we have now is that all this fame and fortune has gone straight to Petey’s head. He’s such a demanding boy! ​

Collaboration with local universities

We’ve been so lucky for continued opportunities to work closely with both UNC and NC State on animal-related projects and events this year. UNC-Vegans for Peace continue to volunteer on a regular basis (they are the best poop scoopers we’ve ever seen!), and two students from the UNC of Journalism did projects about the mission and day-to-day operation of the sanctuary. We also did a presentation on the NC State campus for about 50 students in the Animal Companion Club. A few of those students even came out to volunteer and meet the animals after the presentation!

Here's even more cool stuff!

• We are continuing to write our children’s book about the animals at the sanctuary. A special thank you to Julia Green (local writer and writing consultant) and London Writer's Salon for keeping us motivated and organized!
• Abigail’s health journey continues to improve every day. We’re keeping her arthritis under control with Adequan shots, which seems to help quite a bit. Continue to keep this dollbaby in your prayers.
• We continue to clean up our country road through the DMV’s Adopt a Highway program. We’ve picked up over 25 bags of trash and recycled items this year.
• JAFAS is now an official policy leader in Animal Place’s Food for Thought program. As a policy leader, we are committed to providing vegan-only food at any events sponsored by our sanctuary. 

A special thank you

We are truly grateful for all the love and support we've received throughout 2022. It would literally take us all day to thank every person who's touch our lives this year. Whether you've come out to visit, donated to one of our fundraisers, sent us an email, or responded to one of our social media posts, we appreciate you! Please know that it brightens our day whenever we're able to share our little slice of heaven.

A special thank you to these folks and organizations! 

• Kerry Thompson for all her hard work on our website, including the new sponsorship pages. 
• Neshama Animal Rescue for scooping up little Gregory from the Wake County Animal Shelter and bringing him to his forever home at JAFAS. Also thank you for paying for his neuter and vaccines!
• Vivian and Tina at J and J Produce in Eli Whitney for the hundreds of apples, potatoes, and sweet potatoes gathered for the pigs.
• James Davis and Devon Lally for all the personal training sessions to help us stay strong and fit for running the sanctuary.
• Tri-county Veterinary Clinic for providing vaccines and performing neuters.
• Dr. Shannon Swink from Hoof and Horn for coming out regularly to give vaccines, administer hoof and tusk trims, and remove unsightly growths (looking at you, Miss Tabitha!). 
• Piedmont Feed and Garden Center for supplying us with pig and chicken food, straw, and pumpkins!
• Jennifer Hadley for coming out and taking some amazing photos of the pigs.
• Weaver Street Market in Southern Village for the ongoing produce donations. 
• Vicious Fishes for supporting community non-profits like JAFAS.
• Christ United Methodist Church for helping us keep our spiritual sanity when things get crazy. 
• Ian and Jess Ostrowski for taking in Bonnie the hen and giving her a safe new home. 
• Sara and Gordon Gress for always being there to help with various projects and feeding when we need a little extra help.
• Brad and Tracy Redfoot for giving the piggies produce from their beautiful garden.
• Walk & Wag for taking care of all the animals when we have to leave town.

How can you help?

So glad you asked! You can:

• Donate through a Facebook fundraiser or directly through our Donorbox fundraising page. 
• Support JAFAS in your Facebook birthday fundraiser. 
• ​Give through a corporate giving program like Benevity (usually companies will match a certain percentage of donations).
• Volunteer your time on a Saturday morning to scoop poop and socialize with the pigs.
• Share the sanctuary with your friends and family.