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Community Corner

People and Animals Celebrate National Volunteer Week

The Gress Mountain Ranch in Orefield Honors Volunteers.

Volunteer Week is being celebrated this week across the nation.  Locally, The Gress Mountain Ranch in Orefield recognized its dedicated, hardworking volunteers on Sunday, April 10, Volunteer Appreciation Day, with a celebration of the mission of the ranch — animals and people helping each other.

The team of volunteers at the ranch range in age and in the amount of time they can offer their help, but they all share a common goal of helping the animals.  And the volunteers are a crucial aspect of what keeps the ranch running. Being a forever home for approximately 35 animals, many previously abused and with ongoing medical conditions.

“During the course of a year, we may have 100 volunteers come through the ranch, but many only come for a specific event or for a day,” said Adele Fagan, volunteer and vice president of TGMR.

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Realistically, the ranch has only 10-12 core volunteers who assist on a regular basis.

Lexie Kline and Mia Bobenko, both sixth-grade students at , enjoy working with the animals and find the experience at the ranch to be fun. The junior volunteers take part in feeding and brushing the animals, as well as cleaning their respective areas.

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“I’ve always enjoyed animals and hope to be a vet someday,” said Bobenko, a volunteer for nearly two years.

For Kline, the experience is very similar.

“I love animals and especially like working with the horses. I hope to become a big animal vet,” said Kline, who just recently started volunteering.

For Tom Wingate of Lower Macungie, the desire to volunteer at TGMR came after reading a newspaper article about the ranch. Unemployed for nearly two years now, Wingate volunteers three days a week, almost all day, doing whatever is necessary to help with the animals.

“I know I’m making a difference, and I enjoy every moment I spend at the ranch,” Wingate said.

Regardless of their individual reasons for volunteering at TGMR, each of the special people who dedicate their time to the animals are greatly appreciated by Kathryn and Ben Gress, founders of TGMR.

“Without this group, TGMR would not be able to operate,” Kathryn Gress stated.

Interested in volunteering? Gress Mountain Ranch partakes in Volunteer Match and the Volunteer Center of the Lehigh Valley.

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