Barnes Yard Petting Zoo Flooded

My name is Katie Mariani. My daughters, among many other excited children, have been learning all about animals for the last two years through a wonderful group called Barnes Yard Petting Zoo. These generous women have a passion for animals of all kinds. They have introduced our children to rabbits, donkeys, llamas, cows, and even rainbow ponies! We have never personally visited their home location because these girls take the time and effort to bring animals to the children. As founder, Marie Barnes explains, they strive to "bridge the gap that seems to be a disconnect with animals and the general public. By creating opportunities to have hands-on experiences, we are making a lifetime of memories. Those memories ultimately make a difference for today's youth and tomorrow's conservation of animals and animal welfare." They run wonderful educational programs for children while taking on the full-time job of caring for many animals fully and completely, including orphaned, senior, and special needs animals. (To learn more about what Barnes Yard is all about, check out their website .)

Like many of us locals, the farm suffered major damage from the recent storms and floods. Although Marie has contacted her insurance agencies, as of August 1st, when I last spoke with her at an event she was running in the midst of all her personal struggles, one agency had yet to call her back and the other told her there was a minimum 3-week wait until they could even take a look. It turns out, Marie has been in contact with many state and local agencies for over 2 years now trying to be proactive and address concerns about a retention pond on her property. It had been built for the developments that went up above the farm. Unfortunately, no one would take the case and it has basically been 2 years of phone tag. One person tells her to call this agency. That agency says to try these people. Those people lead her somewhere else. On and on again and again, but with no solution. And now... her worst fears have come true. The storms were severe enough to flood the farm. Most of the flooding came from the overflowing retention pond that she tried to say was not designed in a way that benefited all. She will continue to fight for a redesign of that, but in the meantime, she could really use help with her farm.

What touches my heart is that while talking to Marie, she is very selfless and humble. She kept acknowledging the damage that others have endured over her own needs. She never once hinted at needing help. (I had to ask tons of questions to get to the fact that they do, indeed, need major help with repairs.) Immediately after explaining some things that they have dealt with, she shrugged and told me they would get by and come out stronger in the end. Although there is chaos at the home farm, they were all right back out there a week later packing up their animals to reach today's youth and bring harmony between people and animals. She has touched so many lives - both animals' and humans' - that I created my first ever GoFundMe to try to help them out. I can't think of a more deserving group of people and animals. All money raised will go directly to the Barnes Yard Petting Zoo to repair their home for the animals and continue their business of bringing people and animals together. After all, this is both their home and their livelihood that was affected. Here are a few of the major issues that need attention:

Thank you so much for your consideration in helping me help them.