Each year, the Smartgroup Foundation provides support to charitable causes in the communities we operate in. In 2021, we were excited to offer some of that assistance to the Brightside Farm Sanctuary in Tasmania. Using the Foundation grant, Brightside has been working hard to construct a new kennel area in the sanctuary.
Introducing Brightside Farm Sanctuary
In 2006, Emma Haswell purchased a 50-acre paddock in the beautiful Huon Valley, which sits about an hour south of Hobart. With not much on the land beyond a sparse collection of trees, Emma and her then 11-year-old daughter moved in.
Emma’s vision was a home for rescued animals, one where they could recover from previous trauma and eventually thrive. The kind of place that didn’t yet exist anywhere in Tasmania.
And so Brightside Farm Sanctuary was born.
Registered as a not-for-profit, and with not much to start with other than some animals and a borrowed caravan, Emma has since grown the sanctuary into something special.
Supported by a team of hard working and committed volunteers, the sanctuary has helped rescue thousands and re-home hundreds of animals, while accepting visits from more than 30,000 students.
Every year, Brightside rescues and re-homes between 300 and 500 animals (including about 300 dogs). The sanctuary provides much needed animal education to children and adults alike. And it acts as a permanent home for more than 250 animals.
At the sanctuary, you’ll find a diverse range of animals (both farm and domestic), including dogs, hens, cows, sheep, pigs and horses. And to help care for all the animals, there are kennels, barns, shelters and a cattery. There are also four dams on the property, where you’ll find natives like the platypus and wedge-tailed eagle, along with wild duck and swans.
Brightside’s work hasn’t been limited to the sanctuary, either. The team has also run a number of successful campaigns for the better treatment of animals in Tasmania. As a result, they’ve contributed to banning sow stalls and greyhound hurdle racing in Tasmania, and are putting together a plan on how to phase out battery hen farming.
The Smartgroup Foundation lends Brightside a hand
When Brightside reached out to us with a request for help, we were thrilled to oblige with a grant in 2021.
Having received many requests to take in extra animals, Brightside needed more space and care facilities. Fortunately, an opportunity had arisen for the sanctuary to expand its land by an additional three acres. But Brightside needed financial support to cover construction costs for the project to succeed.
On the new three acres, Brightside has been hard at work to build kennels, a cattery and holding yards. The Smartgroup Foundation’s grant has covered the cost of constructing the kennel area.
Without external financial support like the Smartgroup Foundation’s grant, this project wouldn’t have been possible. We’re so glad that we’ve been able to provide some help – it’s truly an honour to contribute to something that’s made a lasting impact for the Brightside Farm Sanctuary.
The Smartgroup Foundation
We launched the Smartgroup Foundation in 2019 to help the communities where we live and operate. Since that first year, the Smartgroup Foundation has given grants to a variety of different charities to support them with specific projects.
Though there are so many worthy causes at a local, national and international level, we’ve chosen to focus on community projects with causes that matter the most to our employees.
Find out more
We’d love for you to check out more about the work the Smartgroup Foundation is doing by clicking here. And if you’d like to find out a little more about Brightside Farm Sanctuary, please take a look at their website here.