Mission,
Core Values & Projects
Please Note: Because of the degradation of care standards, treatment of sanctuary labor, and lack of oversight emerging at many “sanctuaries” as the work of the farm animal advocacy movement popularizes, we signed on to the TENETS OF SANCTUARY and make public here that we abide by their clear and concise principles regarding sanctuary ethics for quality of animal care and transparency of operations, which includes the treatment of all non-humans and humans in this community. We are also devotees of THE OPEN SANCTUARY PROJECT and consult their resources consistently in addition to our local veterinarians and peers. It is important to us, to assist all community and supporters of this work in having a deeper, more complete understanding of ethical sanctuary principles, and to engage in continuing education ourselves.
RESCUE & CARE
We rescue, care and advocate for abused non-human animals who are victims of animal agriculture. We specialize in rescuing and providing individualized care to farmed birds: chickens, and more recently, we have been able to make space for disabled ducks.
Chickens are abused and killed in unthinkable numbers: 68 billion per year, worldwide; 9 billion a year in the U.S. alone. Over 250 million rooster chicks a year are suffocated or macerated at only a few days old in the U.S. and put into potting soil mixes and used as filler in animal feeds. Chickens, if they are rescued, are often deemed less worthy of any rescue effort - commonly they are denied medical care, and even, in many cases, they are tragically sent back to farms that will kill them, rather than be given safe refuge or any considerations at all. Vegan advocacy for chickens is critical in establishing fundamental understanding of oppressive, violent structures woven into our society, if we seek to fully dismantle those structures for collective liberation.
We began in a grassroots way - at first, operating for many years in a small rented half-acre yard. There is unfathomable suffering intrinsic to the poultry & egg industry, let alone what all other farmed animals endure. Chickens are mocked and denigrated... abused relentlessly at unthinkable speeds and volumes. Tragically, they are often not even accepted at the majority of mainstream pet-focused “animal” rescues, and the majority of veterinary offices don’t know how to help chickens or even accept them as patients. We hope to give haven to other species in the future, but chickens will always be our primary focus.
EDUCATION & ACCESS
We work to increase access to vegan food and education, bringing more “intersectional” resources to our area. Events like Hudson Valley Vegfest, which has brought an unprecedented array of vegan speakers, authors and educators to the Hudson Valley, Kingston Animalia which gathers vegan artists together to inspire - and through educational presentations at venues such as local libraries, the local food pantry, and even the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park. Our Vegan Educational Poster Project, and The Happy Cart free vegan food program - as well as our efforts via film screenings, letter writing gatherings, meetups and more - are all about supporting a care-centered culture and bringing people together for positive change.
RESPECT FOR ALL
We are proud to have been the first animal rescue in the Hudson Valley to state a Collective Liberation philosophy as an integral part of our mission, goals and values. Prior to IFAH, our founder worked over a 10 year time-frame at multiple animal rescues, as both volunteer and staff - covering the roles of caretaker, program manager, administrator, grounds maintenance, tour guide educator and more. All too often she experienced vegan ethics applied in a disturbing vacuum. Experiencing first-hand the repeated patterns of toxicity in the workplace and lack of compassionate attitudes towards staff, volunteers and workers doing the heaviest load-lifting at these institutions (for barely a living wage) changed us profoundly. We are committed to building a more conscious, equitable and respectful environment here.
We state unequivocally that we daily commit to a culture of respect all who visit or work here, and our community and neighbors - no matter your species, race, sexual orientation, gender identification, faith, age and ability.
Black Lives Matter to us, and we take part in community actions to denounce racism and police brutality, as well as to denounce xenophobic, anti-immigrant, antisemitic, homophobic, anti-Trans, misogynystic, ableist, classist rhetoric, policy and behavior, i.e. we reject any ideology that is rooted in hate and supremacist thinking. We have respect and love for all who work for equity and justice, and wish to exist in a state of co-support. We will continually work with our board and with community to strengthen infrastructure that does not in any way allow for abusive treatment, unethical behavior or exploitation of any animals, humans or non-human.
PROJECTS
Our efforts include the following:
Used our writing skills and merch to fundraise for many organizations (see list in SHOP)
Recorded a song (see MUSIC) whose proceeds support animal rescue and care.
Co-created a Meetup Group (with animal advocate/singer/songwriter Kirsti Gholson) that held film screenings, letter writings for AR prisoners and more.
Created a growing online database of vegan/animal rights artists
Co-created and produce a new huge vegan festival for the Hudson Valley! HUDSON VALLEY VEGFEST helped bring incredible new educational offerings to the region and greater vegan awareness, and will also help us support and grow this sanctuary. 2000-2500 people attended each of our first three years, as well as a dozens of speakers, presenters and entertainers, as well as nearly 100 businesses and non-profits. We are hard at work on year four!
Held our first Vegan/Intersectional Cultural Festival - KINGSTON ANIMALIA (which debuted in 2019 as part of HV Vegfest) - to support compassion-based art that inspires, uplifts, teaches and engages!
We gave presentations: at the Phoenicia Library (on the ethical issues with chickens and eggs) and, as part of the first annual Hudson Valley Food & Beverage Summit, we gave the first fully ethical vegan presentation in history at the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, NY!
Created and published the Hudson Valley Vegan Guide! The first resource of it’s kind in the region, steering locals and visitors towards vegan organizations, foods, products and businesses.
Issued the first in series of the Vegan Educational Poster Project, an ongoing effort to both support vegan artists and get eye-catching education out in the community in vibrant new ways.
We created The Happy Cart, a free vegan food program, and collaborated on the project with a local food-bank supported food pantry to make it a reality! In our two years, just going out once a week, we have served a total of 1500 free vegan meals!
We collaborated with our friends, the activists at NY Farm Animal Save, to launch a campaign (website, brochure and five billboards) in Ulster County - educating on the relationship between zoonotic diseases and animal agriculture (our treatment, harm and eating of non-human animals) to help the community better understand the current Covid-19 pandemic.
Joyously, we have built three beautiful, handmade, heated and insulated coops in two years and picked up a few more rescued, non-human family members along the way. Two were profiled on The Dodo website!
LOOKING FORWARD…
After nearly a decade assisting at other sanctuaries and rescues, and six years of building this organization, The Institute finally became a 501c3 Non-Profit Charity in January 2019.
A new even more exciting chapter began in 2022, when we were able to fundraise and procure our own space for this work. The Institute is now in Rhinebeck, NY, on a 22 acre property that is mostly protected woodlands and wetlands, but has afforded us about 5 acres to carry on this work and expand what we started back in Woodstock.
Thank you for your interest in The Institute, and we look forward to doing and sharing much more!
Note: If you'd like to support the work being done by the Institute but don't need a hat or a song, we are deeply grateful for any and all generosity. Every bit helps us continue to expand these efforts. You can donate HERE, and we also have a WISH LIST of supplies. Thank you!