A Longmont nonprofit that uses rescued horses and farm animals to help at-risk youth, adults in recovery, people with disabilities and first-responder families now has only weeks to find a new home. Acres of Hope Ranch must be off its current property by the end of October after its landlord decided to sell, and the organization says it has no funds right now to buy a replacement site.
Landlord's Sale Forces a Scramble
The ranch has operated at its current location for four years, but the landlord's decision to sell the property has forced Acres of Hope Ranch to find a new location, according to CBS Colorado. Co-founder Tony Gamberg said the organization did not foresee the property sale coming, and the station reports the nonprofit currently has no funds to purchase a property of its own. Co-founders Tony and Heather Gamberg say they currently have nowhere to relocate the nonprofit as the Oct. 31 deadline approaches.
For Heather Gamberg, the uncertainty has been an emotional weight. She told the station she has cried about the situation nearly every day. The couple opened the nonprofit after experiencing traumatic losses involving their mothers — according to the ranch's own site, Acres of Hope Ranch notes that Tony and Heather Gamberg each lost their mothers in 2009, just 11 days apart.
A Mission Built on Second Chances
Every animal at the ranch is a rescue, Tony Gamberg said, and he described the people and animals the nonprofit serves as having been let down by life. The ranch's website describes itself as a place where rescue horses and animals offer hope to at-risk youth, adults in recovery, individuals with disabilities and first-responder families, and it says every program is offered free of charge, made possible entirely by volunteers, donors and faith. ColoradoGives.org, which hosts the nonprofit's donation page, notes that Acres of Hope has no paid staff and never charges for any of its programs.
The organization's roots trace back to 2015, when it started by taking in horses others saw as disposable before growing into what is now a broader sanctuary and retreat, per the nonprofit's listing on ColoradoGives.org. That mission has since expanded from horse rescue to farm-animal rescue, the ranch says on its site, pointing to its recent rescue of a baby calf with a broken leg and an orphaned goat as animals it plans to incorporate into its therapeutic work with people.
Searching Near the Weld-Boulder Line
Acres of Hope Ranch hopes to remain near the Weld and Boulder county border as it searches for its next home, the same CBS Colorado report states. The ranch currently purchases and stores hay for its animals, but is looking for a property that would let it harvest its own hay going forward — a sign the current site does not meet the nonprofit's long-term needs. The organization is seeking both help finding a new property and donations to make the move possible as it continues to look for a way forward before the end of the month.
