For September, our giving went to an organization that has been near and dear to my heart for a very long time: Speranza Animal Rescue in Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania.
We donated $332, and as always, I covered the processing fees separately. The total charge was $341.96, which means the full $332 went directly to the rescue.
A rescue built on hope
I’ve followed Speranza and its founder, Janine Guido, for years. Long before I ever thought about choosing them for one of our monthly donations, I was following Janine's work and the animals whose stories she shared.
Speranza means “hope” in Italian, which could not be a more appropriate name.
The rescue operates on a 17.5-acre farm and is completely volunteer-run. They specialize in helping animals who have been severely abused, neglected or deemed too difficult by other rescues because of medical or behavioral issues. Some are rehabilitated and eventually adopted. Others who cannot safely be placed in homes are able to spend the rest of their lives at the sanctuary. Oh my heart! I love this!
But one of the things that has always stayed with me is that Speranza's story isn't only about animals being rescued.
It's also about the way animals can rescue us.
Janine has been very open about her own struggles with mental illness. She has spoken publicly about being diagnosed with severe clinical depression and bipolar disorder when she was young, surviving a suicide attempt and going through years when simply continuing forward was incredibly difficult. She has said that rescuing animals gave her motivation and purpose when she desperately needed it.
One of the dogs who helped set everything in motion was a neglected dog named Franny, whom Janine found along the side of the road. Janine has said that when she looked at this dog who seemed to have given up hope, she saw something of herself in her. It was shortly afterward that she told her dad she wanted to start an animal rescue.
And from that small moment, Speranza was born.
Then came Libre
If you've followed Speranza for a long time, you probably know the story of Libre.
In the summer of 2016, Libre was found in horrific condition on a Lancaster County farm. He was only a puppy. He was severely malnourished, anemic and suffering from serious skin infections and open sores. He was so weak he could barely lift his head, eat or drink, and rescuers believed he had only hours to live.
A delivery driver had seen Libre and ultimately helped get him out of that situation and into the hands of people who could help him. Eventually Janine and Speranza became involved.
And Janine made Libre a promise.
If he survived, he would have a home with her. I will never forget the video of her rushing him to the emergency vet. It's imprinted on my brain how much she cared for this little innocent soul.
This story is how I discovered Janine and Speranza Animal Rescue. Story after story of his update kept me glued to her Facebook account. I think so many of us were praying and sending loving and healing energy to Libre's poor little broken body.
He survived against all odds.
Janine adopted him, and Libre went on to become much more than one little dog who somehow made it through something unimaginable. His story drew enormous attention to Pennsylvania's animal-cruelty laws and helped fuel the push for stronger protections for animals.
That effort eventually became known as Libre's Law.
Signed into law in Pennsylvania in 2017, the legislation strengthened the state's animal-cruelty laws, including tougher penalties for serious abuse and neglect and the creation of felony-level aggravated animal cruelty offenses. It also strengthened protections surrounding the tethering of dogs outdoors.
One tiny dog who almost didn't make it ended up helping change the law for countless animals who came after him.
Why I chose Speranza
There are so many wonderful rescues we could support, but I wanted to share more of the story behind this one because this is why Speranza has stuck with me all these years.
Janine took her own pain and somehow turned it outward into helping something else.
Then those animals helped her.
Those animals brought together volunteers who found their own community and purpose there. In fact, Speranza's volunteers have described the rescue as being therapeutic and rehabilitative for the humans who work there, too.
And then there are people like me, hundreds and hundreds of miles away, who have followed these stories for years and been affected by them too.
It's this whole ripple effect.
One person helps one dog.
One dog changes one person.
That person starts a rescue.
The rescue changes hundreds or thousands of animals' lives.
One little puppy named Libre survives, and eventually laws change.
You just never really know how far one act of kindness is going to travel.
So this month, $332 of our giving went to Speranza Animal Rescue, and I'm incredibly happy that we were able to play one very small part in helping Janine and all of the volunteers continue doing this work.
And once again, thank you. Every time you support what I'm creating, you're also helping make these donations possible.
If you'd like to learn more about Speranza, meet some of the animals or read more about Janine's story, you can visit their website here:
I think this is one of those organizations where the name really does say it all.
Speranza. Hope.
Join The Story Post Snail Mail Club - It's a fun way to get a unique art print that I create, a personal letter by me, slow living prompt card, recipe card, and a few extras each month.
If you want to see all of the rescues we've donated to, click here.
