Wishing Well Sanctuary

Farm Animal Sanctuary in Ontario

Wishing Well Sanctuary

Wishing Well Sanctuary is a Federally registered charitable organization. We need your donations to assist us in feeding and caring for the animals at the Sanctuary. Your funds will help us provide programs to youth and their families who otherwise could not afford to attend. Registered Charity No. 842652489RR0001

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Mission, Vision, and Values

Wishing Well Sanctuary is undergoing a strategic realignment in order to ensure that, going forward, we remain true to our mission, vision, and values. We will continue to ensure that our animal family receives excellent care and we will focus on our mission to promote mental health and well-being for children, youth, their families and caregivers; we will be extending sanctuary to those affected by trauma, addiction and other difficulties, by providing courses, seminars, and workshops.

We will continue to provide a safe haven for abused and neglected animals, to promote care and respect for all beings through humane education, and to foster personal and community responsibility to alleviate suffering. We also remain committed to promoting greater awareness of our relationship with, and impact on, the environment, by providing programs that encourage responsible stewardship of our planet.

Now in our ninth year, we look forward to broadening the scope of our programs to include even greater community enrichment. We hope you will join us as we move forward and continue serving the people that reach out to us, the animals in our care, and those that support us in so doing.

With gratitude for your unwavering support,

WWS Board of Directors

Volunteer at Wishing Well

Would you like to work with the animals, assist in the office or at a fundraising event? There is always lots of work… as well as sharing your love with ‘our’ animal family. There are many, many ways by which you can help us; fundraising, marketing, graphic design, construction etc etc… WE look forward to welcoming you to our community!

The Wishing Well family loves being groomed, petted or sometimes just kept company to help them adjust to different circumstances.

We are looking for someone like you! What are you good at? Many skills can be helpful to our sanctuary.

One of the best reasons to volunteer is that it is tied to something you are passionate about. A recent study showed that 95% of volunteers surveyed said they gained a “helper’s high” volunteering, so it truly is a feel-good activity.

Humane Education & School Visits

Humane education promotes empathy and integrity. It teaches students how thoughtless actions can cause suffering and harm and encourages them to make compassionate and respectful decisions. While it focuses on being kind to people, it also goes beyond that, promoting compassion for all animal species and caring for the planet. The humane education movement dates back to the 19th century and has taken different forms in different cultural contexts.

However, a key theme across the decades has been an emphasis on the interconnectedness of humans, other animal species and the planet.The belief among early proponents of humane education that children exhibiting cruelty towards animals would go on to be cruel to humans has since been confirmed through scientific studies and is now widely recognized. The goal of humane education is to promote ethical choices and encourage students to become thoughtful consumers.

Teachings can be broken down into four elements:

• Providing accurate information to show students the possible consequences of their everyday decisions.
• Fostering curiosity, creativity and critical thinking to encourage them to carefully evaluate information they are provided with.
• Instilling reverence, respect and responsibility to promote kindness.
• Offering positive choices to ensure that students feel empowered to make ethical decisions.

Humane Education at Wishing Well Sanctuary

At Wishing Well, humane education is a key component of the Sanctuary’s mission to promote a kinder, gentler world. We provide age tailored programs that explore empathy, compassion and respect for all. Lessons learned in the classroom are underscored during quality time spent interacting with the furry sages of the Wishing Well family after each class.

Classes are open to groups of all ages and are tailored to suit different age groups/grades. Our humane education syllabus is compatible with the Ontario school curriculum. We aim not only to promote compassion, but to provide a healing environment which enhances resiliency and self-esteem.

Age-appropriate Humane Education Programs Available for School Groups

4 hour program $22.50 per child Contact Us to schedule a class visit.

4 hour program includes:

• Discuss animals with whom we share our home and planet.
• Exploring different species in the domestic, wildlife and exotic families.
• Other means of communicating such as body language.
• How animals share their feelings and getting to recognize their body language.
• What we ALL need to live a happy, healthy life.
• Understanding nutrition, exercise and enrichment.
• Tour of Sanctuary and hands-on time with animals.