White Owl Sanctuary Facing Emergency Conditions

Hi, my name is Calvin Red Owl III. I am the founder of The White Owl Animal Sanctuary. An all-volunteer animal rescue and shelter serving the 2.1 million acre Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, located in southwest South Dakota.

Winter storm Dias buried the reservation in approximately 30 inches of snow. It was followed by a blast of high winds that intensified the blizzard conditions, grinding local communities to a halt.

Currently, communities lack the necessary infrastructure to efficiently clear snow drifts that reach the rooftops. The recovery process is crippled by several factors, including uncleared roads. Trucks can't deliver basic goods and food at a time when reservation-wide inflation is up due to the cost of shipping goods to our remote location. Even when the weather is good. The Sanctuary is located in a community served by two small stores, currently with bare shelves, in what would otherwise be considered a food desert.

Poverty levels reported in Pine Ridge are comparable to those of developing nations with economic disadvantages and poor health outcomes that should not exist anywhere in North America. Restrictions necessitated by Covid-19 have severely impacted the local economy, and the situation on that front is dire.

People have limited availability of goods and services, and few job vacancies. An 85% unemployment rate makes daily life challenging for people, not to forget their animal companions.

Your support will help fund the critical work of caring for animals and supporting the people who care for them. The Sanctuary seeks to address or procure the following:

1. Overhead and Daily Operations.

2. Donations to the food bank. Including Dog food, Cat food and pet supplies.

3. Plumbing; repair of burst pipes and resulting damages to the sanctuary.

4. Insulated Dog Houses and Vinyl sheeting for doors to meet the sheer number of incoming animals.

5. 3 VESTA self-powered indoor space heaters by InstaFire.

6. Cans of InstaFire 6-hour canned space heater.

White Owl Sanctuary and the greater Pine Ridge Community endure days without electricity and or heat, including running water during most winter weather events. We hope to purchase numbers 5 & 6 above for families most at risk of lacking utilities. Many families cannot afford propane, and half of all homes run solely on electricity. When the electricity goes out, so does the heat. One of the sanctuary's neighbors is 80+ years old, for example, and lives in an all-electric trailer. She will be one of the first to receive these life-saving supplies.

You can donate directly, and or learn more about what we do at www.whiteowlsanctuary.org

We greatly appreciate your support, Thank you