Volunteer with the rescue
Our rescued horses, donkeys, pigs, goats, geese and a busy flock need fresh water, clean stalls and a lot of good scratches. Barn Hands make that happen. Everything you need to know before your first day is right here.
Ways to help
Some people come every week. Some come for one big fence day. Some help from their kitchen table. All of it counts.
Regular
A standing shift you can count on and the animals can count on too. This is the heart of the program: the same faces, the same routines, and animals who come to know you.
Project
Show up for a specific job with a start and a finish: a fence day, hay stacking, a coop deep clean, a photo day, or helping with Giving Tuesday or the Barn Dance.
UT students
We partner with UT's Jones Center for Leadership and Service. Sign up for shifts through ServeUTK and we'll verify your hours after each visit.
From home
Not every job needs boots. Write thank-you notes, research grants, design flyers, edit video or keep our records tidy, all from wherever you are.
The guidebook
Read this before your first visit. Most of it is common sense. A few rules are non-negotiable, because they keep the animals safe and keep you safe.
Latch it behind you. Every gate, every time.
Leave every gate exactly the way you found it, and check the latch with your hand, not just your eyes. Our goats are escape artists, a loose donkey on the road is dangerous for everyone, and an open coop door at dusk is how foxes get in.
Germs travel on boots, hands and clothes. Bird flu in particular is a real risk for our geese, ducks and chickens. A few habits keep it off the farm.
Call 911 first, then find staff. Don't move someone with a possible head, neck or back injury.
Find staff right away. Stay calm and stay nearby, but don't try to treat the animal yourself.
Don't chase. Chasing turns a wander into a run. Tell staff, calmly block the path toward the road if it's safe, and close any gates you can.
Limping, not eating, coughing, hiding, breathing hard, acting different. Tell staff before you leave, even if it seems small. Noticing is care.
Tell your shift lead right away, even if it's minor, so we can clean it up and write it down.
It happens. Tell us so nobody gets hurt on it later. We'd much rather know.
Please take pictures and share them. The animals are the best recruiters we have. Just keep these in mind:
Meet the residents
Every animal here has a name and a story. Some came to stay for life as ambassadors, and some will find their way to a new home. Here's how to say hello to each group.
Both came to us through a kill pen. Say hello: approach from the front and side where they can see you, keep a hand on them as you move around, and never walk directly behind. Staff leads all horse handling.
Say hello: come up at the shoulder, offer the back of your hand, then scratch the neck and withers. Donkeys like to think things over, so give them a minute to decide about you.
Say hello: talk as you walk up so nobody gets startled. Belly rubs and brushing are very welcome. Never step between a pig and food.
Mostly mini Nubians, plus a couple of Alpines. Say hello: expect to be investigated. Don't push on their heads (it teaches head-butting), and double-check every latch. They are escape artists.
They live in the greenhouse area, and a cedar shed is next on the build list. Say hello: move slowly and give them room. Geese speak up when they're unsure, and that's just talk.
Our ducks are discarded Easter ducks who got a second chance. Say hello: gentle hands at egg time and no chasing. Every coop door gets latched. Foxes are the reason.
We're a farm animal rescue, but dogs and cats who find their way here stay for life. Duke is our Redbone Coonhound. The cats live in the cat-dominium. Say hello: keep the cat-dominium door shut behind you.
Training
Everyone starts in the same place, no matter how much farm experience you have. Each farm does things its own way, and our animals each have their own needs.
A walk around the farm, the barn rules, gate practice, the boot wash, where things live, and meeting the residents. You'll shadow one feeding.
Work side by side with a trained Barn Hand or staff member on the daily routine: water, stalls, bedding, coop close-up and animal check-ins.
Staff walks through the checklist below with you. Once you're signed off, you can take on standing chores in your assigned areas and join the regular schedule.
Open and close a shift, run the chore board, and welcome new volunteers on their buddy shifts.
Tick these off as you learn them. It's just for you (nothing is saved or sent).
Once you know the basics, you can grow into the work you love most.
Pumpkin and sunflower patch, pollinator plantings, greenhouse care.
Fences, gates, shelters and the geese's cedar shed. Tools are 18+.
Photos, video clips and resident bios. Jules and Lane approve anything that gets posted.
Giving Tuesday, the BombDiggity Barn Dance, tabling and wish list drives.
Grooming, forage games, climbing features, and quiet time with shy residents.
Grant research, thank-you notes, volunteer records and design.
Chore board
These are the jobs we keep on the list. Filter by the kind of work you like and the kind of help you're signing up for. Each tag shows how often it comes up, about how long it takes, and who can do it.
Sign up
Four steps from here to your first morning in the barn.
Fill out the volunteer interest form: regular, project or from home, when you're free, and what you'd love to help with.
Volunteer interest formEvery volunteer signs before their first shift. If you're 16 or 17, a parent or guardian signs with you.
Volunteer waiverWe'll reach out with orientation dates and send directions once you're booked. Visits are by appointment only.
Wear your boots, bring your water bottle, and plan on being greeted by at least one goat.
Find Sweet BombDiggity Farms Rescue & Sanctuary on ServeUTK, sign up for a shift or group day there, and we'll verify your hours after each visit. The farm is about an hour's drive from campus, so carpooling helps.
Find us on ServeUTKSign in and out on the volunteer sheet every visit. Need hours verified for school, a club, a scholarship or your employer's volunteer program? Bring the form and we'll sign it. UT students log hours in ServeUTK and we approve them there.
Questions
Not at all. Everyone starts with the same orientation and buddy shifts, whether you grew up on a farm or have never held a pitchfork.
Volunteers are 16 and up. If you're 16 or 17, a parent or guardian signs your waiver. Younger kids can come with a parent who works right alongside them on family-friendly jobs.
Barn Hands take one 2 to 3 hour shift every week or two, and we ask for your first 3 months so the animals get to know you. Project Crew signs up for one project at a time. Home Crew works on their own schedule.
Please don't. Several residents are on special diets, and even a healthy snack can make one of them sick. Staff will hand you anything that's OK to feed.
No riding and no climbing on any animal. This is a sanctuary, and our job is to give them a safe, easy life.
Please leave your pets at home. It keeps our animals calm and keeps germs off the farm.
We're on Norris Lake in East Tennessee. We share directions once your orientation is booked, and all visits are by appointment.
Lightning, ice and high winds cancel shifts, and we'll let you know as early as we can. In summer we shift to early mornings and evenings to beat the heat.
Some residents stay with us for life as ambassadors, and some find their way to new homes. If an animal has stolen your heart, ask Jules.
Yes. Groups are perfect for Project Crew days like hay stacking, fence clearing and coop deep cleans. Reach out through the interest form and tell us how many people and what dates work.
Tell your shift lead right away, even for a small scrape or sting. For anything serious, call 911 first and then find staff.