Volunteer opportunities are quite often offered in our Hoboken Girl Helps section, but today we’ve got the GOAT of volunteer opportunities {uh-huh, we went there}. You’ve seen the baby goats on Instagram from @goatsofanarchy — cute little guys in wheelchairs and casts being rehabilitated to health. But did you know that you can actually volunteer with them for the day — and that their farm is located IN New Jersey? Yes, it’s true, and we did just that last month. Here’s a peek inside the Goats of Anarchy farms and how to get involved and volunteer:
While we can’t share the exact details of the location, just know the farms are in north Jersey in Hunterdon County and about an hour and fifteen minutes from Hoboken or Jersey City… a super easy day trip to enjoy with some friends.
^HG founder, Jennifer Tripucka with some of the bebes at farm #1
^Chillin in their casts, living the life
If you think it’s just playing and snuggling —which it partly is — know there’s also manual labor involved. So city girls, take note: Don’t wear fancy shoes/outfits, because the goats may nibble, poop, pee, or step on your toes {but honestly they’re adorable and fun to hang out with}. We’d even recommend leaving the Hunters at home — they’ll need a good washing after if you end up risking it {ask us how we know}. You’ll be shoveling and cleaning stalls, cleaning baby goat pools, filling water, sweeping, but it’s all so fun to hang with the goats and SO worth it.
During our trip, we were mainly at Leanne’s second farm, Goats of Anarchy 2, where the older goats who have been rehabilitated hang out and enjoy life.
^Da big, happy goats 🙂
It’s worth a mention that Goats of Anarchy farms have gotten some serious traction in the last few years — the farm’s founder, Leanne Lauricella, has been featured on Ellen, The Dodo, Daily Mail, and more for her animal-saving plight. She left her job in New York City to spend life rescuing goats, saving her first two goats in 2014 {and gained thousands of IG followers overnight with their adorable antics} and hasn’t looked back since.
Now several years later, she has two farms {GOA 1 and GOA 2} and her fleet of animals includes a donkey, a pig, rabbits, and a mini horse. Volunteers come from around the country to spend Saturday mornings with Leanne’s team doing chores and hanging with the adorable baby goats.
^Goats at GOA 2 getting handsy with Jen
^Such cuties. And such a fun day!
If you are interested in volunteering on a Saturday at Goats of Anarchy from 10:30AM to 12:30PM, make sure to get in touch here or email thegoatsofanarchy@gmail.com.
A fun little day trip excursion to hang out with some adorable goats — and who knows, it could be the GOAT weekend of your 2018, just sayin’. It was definitely one of ours.
Have you been to GOA? What was your experience like?
