Sign-Up for Weekly
Sign-up for Fig Datebook and receive weekly content that includes new blogs and features, local events, and happenings in Aiken delivered directly to your inbox.
To subscribe to Fig Aiken in print, please click here.
Subscribe
Get the Print Magazine
Get your own fresh Fig Aiken delivered to your doorstep 4x a year. Be inspired by the latest trends, happenings and thoughts about an Aiken lifestyle.
Suggest an Event
The online Fig calendar is a curated list of community and advertiser events happening in Aiken.
Contact Us
Search
Each year, Fig Aiken partners with an organization that makes our surrounding community a better place to live. For 2022, we are proud to support and share the mission of Aiken Equine Rescue, a local non-profit organization that has been rescuing, rehabilitating, and rehoming displaced and neglected horses as well as Off the Track Thoroughbreds since 2006.
While their rescue facility is local to the Aiken community, their impact statewide and beyond is mighty. They currently operate as one of the largest equine rescues in the southeastern United States. Over the past 16 years, Aiken Equine Rescue has rehomed over 1,400 equines, welcomed thousands of visitors for on-site tours, and provided countless educational and interactive program opportunities for a wide variety of groups.
In April of 2021, the rescue suffered a devastating loss when their main barn and office building was completely destroyed in a fire. While luckily no animal or human was seriously injured, the operational and equipment loss
was immense.
“When we lost the barn in the fire we thought we lost the heart of our organization, but we realized that wasn’t the case at all,” said Jim Rhodes, President of Aiken Equine Rescue. “The heart of our organization is in the determination of our volunteers and the outpouring of community support that we are thankful to experience every day.”
While the team is still early in the process of rebuilding, they are hopeful for what is to come in the future and are committed to returning to their full scale of operations.
“We still have a long way to go,” said Pam Patron, Volunteer Marketing Coordinator for Aiken Equine Rescue. “Right now, the hardest thing is having to turn down horses that we know are hurting, simply because we do not have the facilities or the medical equipment available to give them the proper care that they deserve.”
Aiken Equine Rescue has started a Capital Funding campaign to raise money for the construction of a new barn. They have a variety of donation options and are offering some incredible ways that you can be a lasting part of their legacy to rebuild. Fundraising efforts include buying a custom engraved brick or tile to be used in the construction of the new facility, or for higher-level donations, having the opportunity for naming rights on featured areas of the barn.
If you are interested in helping the Aiken Equine Rescue during this time of recovery and revitalization please email aikenequinerescue@gmail.com or visit aikenequinerescue.org