The Gentle Barn and the "Hug A Cow" Campaign

Shared by Rosalyn Sayer, 365 Days of Service, Lake Hughes Chapter

From The Gentle Barn Website:

The Gentle Barn Launches "Hug A Cow" Campaign

(Funds raised will support the animal sanctuary and treatment programs that benefit at-risk children)

Santa Clarita, CA. (March 17, 2010) - To celebrate the healing touch of animals, The Gentle Barn launched the Hug a Cow Campaign earlier this month. Visitors are encouraged to get their picture taken hugging one of the many rescued cows that live at the sanctuary in Santa Clarita, CA.

The Gentle Barn offers a unique 10-month peace enhancement therapy program that connects rescued and rehabilitated farm animals with inner-city, at-risk, and special-needs kids who can relate to the animals' histories of abuse. Over the past decade, The Gentle Barn has grown from a half-acre backyard in Tarzana to a six-acre ranch in Santa Clarita that provides permanent residence to 120 animals each with a remarkable story of survival and provides interactive healing to hundreds of children annually.

"The Hug a Cow Campaign offers a unique way to promote kindness and compassion." said Ellie Laks, founder of The Gentle Barn Foundation. "Each hug will have a lasting impact on the person and the cow."

"Our goal is to make 100,000 hugs possible within the next year," said Jay Weiner, president of The Gentle Barn. "We want everyone in our community to feel the healing effects of hugging a cow."