The Catherine Violet Hubbard Foundation is seeking volunteers to help with a Rescue Rebuild effort on the animal sanctuary's Old Farm Road grounds, Wednesday, May 10 through Thursday, May 18.GreaterGood.orgCatherine Violet Hubbard Animal Sanctuary Facebook pagerescuerebuild.greatergood.org/cvh2017/GreaterGood.org and Freekibble raised $60,000 for the first round of the barn restoration.GreaterGood.org

Foundation President Jennifer Hubbard said on April 7 that for the second year in a row, the Rescue Rebuild Organization is overseeing volunteer efforts to restore the grounds of the future animal sanctuary.

that works to rebuild, repair, and renovate animal shelters and rescues in need. Volunteers come from all over the country to help, and on May 9 volunteers through the program will begin to arrive in Newtown to continue the renovation effort at the sanctuary's barn. Last year volunteers from more than five different states helped rebuild the barn.According to the Catherine Violet Hubbard Foundation, the Rescue Rebuild Organization is a community-driven volunteer program through

Ms Hubbard said she can easily envision what the Catherine Violet Hubbard Animal Sanctuary will look like when running.

on March 30 explains, "Catherine Violet Hubbard tragically lost her life at the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting. Catherine's passion for animals continues on today through the Catherine Violet Hubbard Animal Sanctuary. There's just one step left to get animals on the property..."A video shared on the

In the video Ms Hubbard explains the Rescue Rebuild effort to fix up the barn last year leaves fencing as the last thing needed before animals can be brought to the space.

"If we can have fencing then animals can be turned out during the day. We can offer workshops and experiences for people to come and learn how to care for these beautiful creatures," she says in the video. "We are one step closer to realizing Catherine's dream."

"Rescue Rebuild will be on site from May 9 to 18 working tirelessly to complete the renovation and repairs to the barn, build paddocks, and continue with invasive plant removal," an announcement from the foundation reads. "As these volunteers donate their time and talent, we are asking for your support in providing meals or becoming a volunteer to assist with the renovation. If you are a local we would love to show our volunteers our great hospitality by providing lunch and dinner."

. Drop-in volunteers will also be welcome.While volunteers will begin arriving May 9, Ms Hubbard said the effort will take place May 10 to 18. If people plan to volunteer, notifying the foundation roughly a week before "would be helpful." Volunteers will work from 9 am until 3:30 pm. To register in advance, go to

"If they wake up in the morning and decide today is a great day to go to the sanctuary, we will take them," said Ms Hubbard.

Last year, during Rescue Rebuild's effort to work on the barn, Ms Hubbard said a man with his dog noticed the work and asked "what was going on." After volunteers played with the dog for a bit, Ms Hubbard said the man brought his dog home and returned with his own tools to help for the rest of the day.

Ms Hubbard said she is very excited for this year's effort to begin.

"Rescue Rebuild has been with us since we really started thinking through the sanctuary," she said.

, according to Ms Hubbard. When Freekibble learned about what the Catherine Violet Hubbard Foundation was working to achieve, The relationship between the Catherine Violet Hubbard Foundation and Rescue Rebuild was formed through another relationship with the Freekibble organization and

"Those two in turn brought in Rescue Rebuild. It is a huge organization that goes around the country and internationally to help restore shelter systems," said Ms Hubbard. This year Rescue Rebuild raised money to help at the sanctuary.

Once the paddock fencing is built this year, Ms Hubbard said the foundation's Sundays at the Sanctuary will be able to use the space and animals to help provide lessons for the community.

The fencing has been designed for small to large animals, which incorporates plans to rehabilitate larger animals in the future. At first, Ms Hubbard said sheep, goats, chickens, and pigs will be helped at the sanctuary.

How To Help

There are three ways people can volunteer, according to Ms Hubbard. People can help manually construct the fencing, people can help remove invasive plants, and people can help by making a meal to feed the volunteers.

The money raised for the Rescue Rebuild effort, according to Ms Hubbard, also covers the cost of feeding and housing volunteers. More lunches or dinners provided by volunteers for the Rescue Rebuild volunteers, will mean more of the money raised being put toward the sanctuary directly.

"We have all the tools, but if people want to bring their own tools they are welcome to," said Ms Hubbard.

She also said people who make meals can bring them and leave or people can stay to eat lunch with the volunteers. Last year people ordered pizzas and stayed to eat with the volunteers.

"It was a nice way for the Newtown community to show how incredibly generous we are. For me it was really an opportunity to watch the community give back after we have received so much," said Ms Hubbard. "The more we can support them, the more they will be able to give back for us."

This Month's Sunday At The Sanctuary

The Catherine Violet Hubbard Foundation also has other upcoming initiatives.

For this month's Sunday at the Sanctuary, Ms Hubbard said a partnership with the Newtown Public Schools was launched. Ahead of the April 23 free family-friendly workshops, Ms Hubbard said the foundation worked with district elementary school science teachers to provide lessons for kindergartners aligned with what will be shared at the sanctuary on April 23.

"We talked to the kindergartners this month about pollinators and how seeds move," she said, explaining that each presentation for the students will engage students on the subject ahead of each month's event.

This month's Sunday at the Sanctuary event will run from noon to 3 pm and is called, "The Power of Wind & Pollinators." It is being presented with the Backyard Beekeepers Association, according to an announcement for the event, and it will include a "Beekeeping 101" presentation and other demonstrations. One kit per family to make bee houses will also be available.

The annual Catherine's Butterfly Party has also been scheduled for Saturday, June 3, from noon to 4 pm, on the Fairfield Hills Campus.

Directions To The Sanctuary

Ms Hubbard also provided directions for volunteers or for those attending this month's Sunday at the Sanctuary event.

The property is on Old Farm Road. From Exit 11 off I-84 West, take a left onto Wasserman Way. Follow Wasserman Way to the first light on the Fairfield Hills campus. Take a right at the light. Follow the road, passing the Second Company Governor's Horse Guard on right and Reed School on the left, and at the end of the road take a right onto Old Farm Road. Follow Old Farm Road, passing the Animal Control Center/Park and Bark dog park on the left, and at a blue shed the road goes from paved to dirt. The road bends around and will come to a creek/ bridge. Parking will be marked.

, and on its More information about the Catherine Violet Hubbard Foundation is available at its website,

cvhfoundation.org.Catherine Violet Hubbard Animal Sanctuary Facebook page