JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — The holiday season is all about giving. But it’s not just about giving to people.
Action News Jax Madison Foglio shows us the power kindness has on all walks of life.
Meet Willy Wonka.
“I wasn’t sure he was going to make it,” Jessie Miller said, the founder of EPIC Outreach.
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Willy Wonka is a Meishan mix pig. He may look happy and healthy now, but that wasn’t the case just a few weeks ago.
“He was actually being given away on Craigslist as a free pig to anyone that wanted him, to get him,” Miller said. “He was in really rough shape. He had not been given the kindest treatment. He was kept in a very small space, he could barely move. Sleeping in and living in muck and mire.”
Jessie Miller is the founder of EPIC Outreach, an education farm sanctuary in north Jacksonville.
They rescue abandoned farm animals like Willy Wonka with one goal in mind…teaching compassion.
“Whether you’re a human being or an animal, there’s basic needs to feel safe and loved and cared for, no matter what the path of your life is,” Miller said.
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For the past couple of months, Willy has grown and thrived at EPIC Outreach, and now he has just learned that this holiday season, he’s getting the greatest gift of all.
“During our Giving Tuesday fundraiser, we made the announcement that he’s going to stay here,” Miller said.
Just like a flower blooms– seeds of compassion get planted with each encounter that’s made.
“You can absolutely see that he’s happy, you can see pigs smile when they’re happy, and Willy Wonka smiles now when we take photos of him,” said Miller. “Willy Wonka is an absolute Christmas miracle!”
With Willy Wonka earning his golden ticket, let this be a reminder that compassion goes a long way.
If you would like to learn more or donate to EPIC Outreach, click here:
EPIC Outreach – Saving Lives. Creating Compassion.
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