Internatl. Volunteer Day, Heifer Ranch

.
Today being International Volunteer Day I am thinking back to my eleven straight years (1995-2006) of serving as a full-time residential volunteer in Arkansas, Switzerland, and Australia.

My Heifer Ranch years, 1996-2002,  were great, shared with the wonderful volunteers in these two photos, as well as new ones who came every year.
The pictures, not my own, are from the late 1990s.
(Here above, I'm at the bottom right, kneeling.)

We all lived in several volunteer houses on the Ranch's 1,200 acres in Arkansas, USA.
We worked, ate, and played together.
I worked hard caring for the livestock and sometimes in the organic gardens.

Wikipedia explains Heifer International:

Heifer International  is a nonprofit working to eradicate poverty and hunger through sustainable, values-based holistic community development. Heifer distributes animals, along with agricultural and values-based training, to families in need around the world as a means of providing self-sufficiency. Recipients must agree to “pass on the gift” by sharing animal offspring, as well as the skills and knowledge of animal husbandry and agricultural training with other impoverished families.
Based in Little Rock, Arkansas, Heifer International started with a shipment of 17 heifers to Puerto Rico in 1944. Since 1944, Heifer International has distributed livestock such as goats, bees, and water buffalo, along with training and other resources, to 20.7 million families, or more than 105.1 million people in more than 125 countries.  . . .

My earlier posts about the Ranch are here. 
See what visitors do at Heifer Ranch educational farm: many programs available.

Learn about the good Heifer International does in the world at the website, and while  there click on the Gift Catalog where you can do your holiday shopping!
One share of a goat costs only $10, for instance.  See the other ways you can honor family and friends by  "buying"  animals and stuff in their name.

Instead of money I donated six years of full-time labor.
You might want to apply for a volunteer position of a few months at Heifer Ranch.  Who knows . . .
.
(Linking to Camera Critters.)
.