BondFire Ranch

08/25/2026

Ray Guidone • Equine Massage & Bodywork, thank you for helping our mare, Beautiful, this morning! Anne and I learned a lot and look forward to helping he move better with less stiffness!

Babbie thanks for hosting, it’s always an amazing experience to se the wonderful Mustangs you and your team are working with.

08/23/2026

🔥 BondFire Ranch Weekly Update | August 16–22 🐴🇺🇸

Some weeks remind us just how many different paths can lead back to the same purpose connection, service, growth, and community. This was one of those weeks at BondFire Ranch.

🐴 Our individual programming continued in the arena as Amanda and her daughter Athena each spent time working through their lessons. These individual experiences remain an important part of our three-track approach. Sometimes growth begins quietly with one person, one horse, and the opportunity to simply be present.

🌲 Planting our Future continued to move forward as we welcomed Mark from the The Longleaf Alliance to the ranch. As we prepare to establish our longleaf pine stand and surrounding habitat, these conversations are helping us think beyond simply planting trees. This project is about stewardship, education, future volunteer opportunities, wildlife habitat, and creating another sustainable resource that can help support BondFire’s mission for years to come.

🇺🇸 We also participated in another productive planning session for the upcoming Alabama Women Veterans Listening Session at BondFire Ranch. We are grateful to the Alabama Department of Veterans Affairs, VET Center partners, and everyone working together to create a day where Alabama’s women veterans can connect, enjoy the ranch, and most importantly have an opportunity to share their experiences and perspectives.

🤝 New relationships continued to develop as well. Following a recent visit to BondFire Ranch, Rodney Hatch helped introduce us to Camp Southern Ground. We are looking forward to learning more about their work and exploring where our missions and efforts supporting veterans may complement one another.

🛠️ Friday was another ranch workday. Although we did not have any Homeschool Wranglers join us this week, there was still plenty to get done. Along with preparing for upcoming programs and fall activities, we checked and cleaned all of the horses’ blankets to make sure we are ready when colder temperatures arrive. It may still feel like summer in Alabama, but good stewardship means preparing ahead for the needs of the herd.

🤝 Friday also included an important Community Engagement and Partnership meeting with Brittany, Montgomery VA Su***de Prevention and Outreach Coordinator. We talked about ways BondFire Ranch can continue expanding its support of veterans through meaningful, relationship-based programming. We are now looking toward spring 2027 to begin developing a new program here at BondFire Ranch, while also exploring how BondFire can support programming at the Tuskegee VA.

🥾 Saturday brought us back together with our friends from Operation Iron Ruck Foundation, and we are grateful for another opportunity to come together and support their amazing organization and the work they continue to do for veterans across Alabama.

One of the best parts of days like this is building new relationships while reconnecting with old friends. We had the opportunity to meet Madeline and Kelly from Contenu Healing, as well as Lauren, who reached out last week about bringing her group to BondFire in November for a ranch clean-up and volunteer weekend.

And, of course, it was great seeing so many friends again Drew, Kyly, Venesa, Kate, Chaplain, Candi, Sandra, Andrea, Rob, Rob, Clara, and Liz. These relationships are a big part of what makes this work meaningful. Every event creates another opportunity to connect, serve, collaborate, and strengthen the network of people and organizations committed to supporting our military and veteran community.

💙 We were also incredibly grateful to learn that BondFire Ranch has received our fourth grant from United Way of Central Alabama. Their continued support of our mission means a great deal to us, and we sincerely appreciate the confidence they continue to place in the work being done at the ranch. Support like this helps us keep creating opportunities for military members, veterans, first responders, their families, and our community.

🏕️ Behind the scenes, work also continued on our Camping for Connection proposal for the MDRT Foundation Global Grant. Board members and trusted partners provided feedback as we continued refining the story of how camping allows BondFire to expand multi-day programming and better serve participants traveling from across Alabama.

And as November gets closer, outreach continues for our 3rd Annual Stars & Strides Fall Festival, including conversations with longtime and potential partners about sponsorship, participation, and helping us make this year’s event another special day at the ranch.

When you look at the week as a whole, it wasn’t one single event that defined it.

It was a lesson.
A planning meeting.
A new introduction.
A partnership strengthened.
A grant earned.
A workday preparing for the herd.
A conversation about the future.
A day spent reconnecting with friends and meeting new ones.

That is how BondFire continues to grow, one connection at a time.

Thank you to everyone who continues to walk alongside us as we pursue our mission of Warming the Heart of Families. 🔥❤️🐴

08/22/2026

This is a great initiative from our friends at Operation Iron Ruck!

Start the conversation today!

🇺🇸 It’s the 22nd — Text a Vet Day.

Today, take a few seconds to reach out to a veteran in your life.

No big speech. No special reason.

Just a simple: “Hey, I was thinking about you. How are you doing?”

Connection matters. A text can start a conversation, remind someone they’re not alone, and sometimes make more of a difference than we realize.

Every month on the 22nd, we challenge you to Text a Vet. Check in. Stay connected.

One Team. One Mission. 🇺🇸

08/16/2026

📣 BondFire Ranch Weekly Update | August 9–15, 2026

Howdy, BondFire Family!

This week reminded us that BondFire Ranch’s mission moves forward in many ways—through time with the horses, meaningful conversations, stronger partnerships, careful preparation, and the simple act of welcoming people through our gates.

🐴 Learning, Connection & Beautiful Moments

Monday began with Kathrine returning to the Ranch for another horsemanship lesson. Each lesson provides another opportunity to build confidence, strengthen skills, and deepen the connection between horse and participant.

On Friday, we welcomed back Chris, Corinna, and Greta, along with Greta’s daughter, Katie, and Katie’s boyfriend, Keifer, an Air Force veteran.

We had a wonderful morning getting to know them better, hearing about their experiences, grooming Beautiful, and learning how to groom and safely lead her.

Once again, Beautiful shared her calmness and willingness to partner with Katie and Keifer throughout the experience. Moments like these remind us why horses are such important members of the BondFire family. They meet people where they are and invite them to slow down, connect, and learn together.

🧠 Welcoming Central Alabama’s New TBI Coordinator

Thursday morning, we welcomed Robbie Law to BondFire Ranch. Robbie is the new Traumatic Brain Injury Coordinator for Central Alabama with the Alabama Department of Rehabilitation Services TBI initiative.

We appreciated the opportunity to introduce Robbie to the Ranch and share more about our mission, programs, horses, and the welcoming environment we are building for military members, veterans, first responders, their families, and members of our community.

We look forward to continuing the conversation and exploring how BondFire Ranch may support individuals and families affected by traumatic brain injuries.

🤝 Partnerships Moving Forward

Thursday continued with several important conversations focused on serving veterans.

We met with Sojourn Counseling and the Birmingham Vet Center to begin exploring how clinical services, veteran wellness, and BondFire’s equine-assisted learning opportunities might complement one another. That conversation has already opened the door to further discussions with Birmingham VA Veterans Justice Outreach.

Later that afternoon, Operation Iron Ruck Foundation, BondFire Ranch, Vets to Cowboys, Inc., and Vets Recover came together by Google Meet as we continue preparing for our joint efforts in October. We are grateful for partners who believe in working together to serve those who have served.

Thursday evening, we welcomed Rodney Hatch, founder of Alabama Honor Bridge, to the Ranch. We enjoyed sharing the BondFire story, learning about the SkillBridge opportunities Alabama Honor Bridge is developing, and discussing ways we may be able to support service members transitioning into civilian careers.

💙 Continued Support from United Way

We were also honored to learn that United Way of Central Alabama approved BondFire Ranch for a $1,000 Chilton County Community Project Grant.

This support will help with the insurance costs necessary to safely provide equine-assisted learning, outdoor recreation, and ranch-based opportunities for military members, veterans, first responders, their families, and our community.

We are deeply grateful for United Way’s continued belief in BondFire Ranch and our mission.

🌱 Preparing for Planting our Future

Work also continued on Planting our Future.

Although the firebreak has not yet been cut, we bush-hogged its outline in preparation for that next step. This work helps us clearly define the area and continue preparing the approximately 12-acre site for longleaf pine planting.

With technical assistance from David Sherer, we also continued identifying suitable hardwood species, sourcing approximately 475 seedlings, and obtaining pricing for the tree-protection tubes that will help those young trees thrive.

Planting our Future is about much more than planting trees. It is about caring for the land, creating wildlife habitat, providing future learning and volunteer opportunities, and building something that can help sustain BondFire Ranch’s mission for years to come.

🎪 Looking Ahead to Stars & Strides

The Alabama Department of Veterans Affairs requested our Stars & Strides flyer so the festival can be shared on its website calendar. We appreciate ADVA helping us spread the word and have invited its team to join us at the Ranch.

Save the date for the 3rd Annual Stars & Strides Fall Festival:

📅 Saturday, November 7, 2026
⏰ Noon–5:00 p.m.
🌲 Planting our Future ceremony at 3:30 p.m.

Thank you to every participant, partner, volunteer, and friend who helped make this another meaningful week at BondFire Ranch. Every lesson, visit, conversation, and act of service moves the mission forward.

Together, we are Warming the Heart of Families—one heart and one hoof at a time. ❤️🐴

08/15/2026

Thanks to the generosity of our supporters, we have raised $57 toward our $3,326 goal!

We are grateful for every donation, and we need everyone’s help to provide the hay, feed, veterinary care, dental care, farrier services, and supplements our horses need.

Our herd is at the heart of BondFire Ranch and the work we do to serve military members, veterans, first responders, their families, and our community. Whether you give $5, $25, or more, every donation brings us closer to our goal and helps care for the horses that make our mission possible.

Please donate and share our fundraiser with your family and friends:

https://www.facebook.com/donate/1352162197028808/

Together, we can care for the herd that cares for so many.

08/09/2026

🌲PLANTING OUR FUTURE: THE BONDFIRE RANCH LONGLEAF PINE PROJECT🌲

If you visit BondFire Ranch over the next several months, you're going to notice some big changes taking place across the property.

You may see tractors and equipment working the fields, a new firebreak taking shape, smoke from a prescribed burn, rows being prepared across what was once pasture, and eventually thousands of small seedlings going into the ground.

There is a plan behind all of it and this month, that plan begins turning into action.

🌲 WHAT IS PLANTING OUR FUTURE?

Planting Our Future is a multi-year Longleaf Pine and land stewardship initiative at BondFire Ranch.

Our conservation plan was developed with technical assistance from the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS)and the Chilton County Soil & Water Conservation District. The overall conservation plan encompasses approximately 34.5 acres of the Ranch and includes Longleaf Pine establishment, native hardwoods, pollinator habitat, prescribed fire, wildlife improvements, forest management and other conservation practices.

We are also incredibly fortunate to have David Sherer, a Marine Corps veteran and experienced Longleaf Pine farmer providing hands-on technical assistance throughout the project.

David is helping us take the conservation plan and turn it into an executable project, from preparing the land and establishing firebreaks to planting layout, soil preparation, seedlings and the long-term management necessary for these trees to thrive.

Having a fellow veteran willing to share his knowledge and experience makes this project even more meaningful to BondFire Ranch.

But this isn't simply about planting trees.

We're learning how to become better stewards of the land we've been entrusted with, and we want to bring our community along for the journey.

🌲 WHAT ARE WE PLANTING?

The centerpiece of the project will be the establishment of 12.3 acres of containerized Longleaf Pine seedlings.

Our conservation plan calls for approximately 605 trees per acre, planted on 6' x 12' spacing.

That means we're preparing to put approximately 7,400 Longleaf Pine seedlings into the ground at BondFire Ranch.

🌳 NATIVE HARDWOODS

Another 1.3 acres will be established with containerized hardwood seedlings at approximately 472 trees per acre, planted on 10' x 12' spacing.

Tree tubes will also be used to help protect the young hardwoods as they become established. That's potentially another 600+ trees becoming part of the Ranch landscape.

Altogether, we could be putting more than 8,000 new trees into the ground.

And we're going to need some help!

🌼 MORE THAN TREES — POLLINATOR HABITAT

Another exciting component of Planting Our Future will be approximately 1.4 acres of dedicated pollinator habitat.

Our plan calls for a diverse mixture of at least nine flowering species, including three early-flowering, three mid-season flowering and three late-flowering species. At least two species must also be preferred plants for beneficial insects.

Our current implementation plan is to establish this pollinator habitat in all 2027.

Once established, the area becomes another long-term stewardship project, with management practices potentially including prescribed burning, light disking and mowing to maintain the desired habitat.

🐝 Butterflies.
🌼 Native flowers.
🐦 Birds.
🦌 Wildlife.
🌲 Longleaf Pines.

We're working toward a landscape where all of those pieces complement one another.

🐦 CREATING BETTER WILDLIFE HABITAT

The conservation plan also includes improvements specifically designed for wildlife.

Three wildlife habitat structures are planned as part of the project, helping provide habitat components for activities such as nesting, rearing, roosting, perching, escape and basking.

Existing wooded areas will also receive attention through selective forest-stand improvement designed to control undesirable and invasive vegetation that competes with Longleaf Pine and shades the native understory.

🔥 BEFORE WE PLANT, WE HAVE TO PREPARE

You can't simply put thousands of Longleaf Pine seedlings into an existing pasture and hope for the best.

There is a lot of work that has to happen first.

And that work begins now.

🔥 AUGUST 11 | 9:00 AM–12:00 PM

FIREBREAK

Our first scheduled field work begins with establishing the firebreak.

The conservation plan calls for approximately 3,598 feet of firebreak.

These strips of bare ground help control prescribed burns, provide boundaries for future fire management and reduce wildfire risk. The NRCS plan calls for firebreaks to be at least eight feet wide and free of burnable material.

This is one of the foundational pieces that will allow us to safely manage the Longleaf Pine ecosystem for years to come.

🔥 SEPTEMBER 1–4

PASTURE BURN #1

Weather and conditions permitting, our first prescribed-burn window is scheduled for September 1–4.

Our conservation plan identifies approximately 13.6 acres for prescribed burning.

Fire is not the enemy of the Longleaf Pine ecosystem.

It's actually one of the tools used to create and maintain it.

This initial burn is part of preparing the site by helping control undesirable woody vegetation, removing accumulated material and improving access for the planting work that will follow. The conservation plan requires an appropriate burn plan as part of this work.

🚜 SEPTEMBER 8 | 9:00 AM–1:00 PM

SUBSOIL & SCALP

After the initial site preparation, we'll start preparing the actual rows where the Longleaf Pines will eventually grow.

We'll subsoil and scalp the planting area and begin laying out the grid that will guide the placement of thousands of seedlings.

This is when we'll really start to see the future forest take shape on the ground.

🌲 FALL 2026

PREPARING FOR PLANTING

There is still plenty to accomplish before the first Longleaf Pine goes into the ground.

🌱 EARLY NOVEMBER

FINAL COORDINATION

By early November, we'll begin final coordination for our seedlings and planting operation.

That makes this year's 3rd Annual Stars & Strides Fall Festival on November 7 an especially meaningful milestone.

At 3:30 PM, we'll celebrate this new chapter at BondFire with Planting Our Future, sharing more about what we're doing, what we've learned and what this land could become over the decades ahead.

🌲 WINTER 2026–27

IT'S TIME TO PLANT!

🌲 **Approximately 7,400 Longleaf Pines**
🌳 **More than 600 native hardwoods**
🌱 **More than 8,000 trees in total**

That's a lot of seedlings—and a tremendous opportunity for people to become part of something that could last for generations.

One of our goals is to make Planting Our Future more than a conservation project.

We want it to become a volunteer and learning experience for our community.

As the project progresses and individual workdays are finalized, we hope to create opportunities for:

🇺🇸 Veterans and military families
🚒 First responders and their families
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Families from our community
📚 Homeschool students and families
⚜️ Scouts and youth organizations
🤝 Civic and service organizations
🏢 Businesses and employee volunteer teams
🐴 BondFire Ranch volunteers and supporters

Some phases require specialized equipment, trained personnel or specific conservation practices, so not every workday will be open for general volunteering.

But whenever we can safely put some extra hands to work, we want our community involved.

📚 AN OUTDOOR CLASSROOM

Perhaps one of the greatest opportunities this project creates has nothing to do with how many trees we plant.

It's what we can teach through the process.

With the conservation guidance provided by NRCS and the practical experience David Sherer brings as a Longleaf Pine farmer, we have an opportunity to let people experience conservation rather than simply read about it.

As Planting Our Future develops, we hope to create hands-on learning experiences around:

🌲 Longleaf Pine ecosystems
🔥 Prescribed fire and fire management
🌼 Native plants and pollinators
🐝 Beneficial insects
🦌 Wildlife habitat
🐦 Ground-nesting birds
🚜 Forestry equipment and land preparation
🌱 Proper seedling selection and planting
🌳 Native hardwoods and forest diversity
💧 Soil and water conservation
📏 Forestry measurements and planting grids
🌎 Responsible land stewardship

Imagine our Homeschool Wranglers, Scouts and other youth helping plant seedlings and then returning year after year to measure the trees, document their survival, identify plants and wildlife, and watch an ecosystem develop around them.

That's a classroom without walls.

🌼 FALL 2027

POLLINATOR PLANTING

Nearly a year after the first site-preparation work begins, we'll enter another important phase.

In Fall 2027, we plan to establish our approximately 1.4-acre pollinator habitat.

That gives us another potential hands-on opportunity for volunteers and youth to learn about native plants, flowering cycles, pollinators, beneficial insects and the connection between healthy plant communities and wildlife.

And then we'll continue managing, monitoring and learning from what we've established.

🌲 THE LONG-TERM VISION

This project isn't designed around next year.

We're thinking in decades.

As these Longleaf Pines mature, our vision is to eventually manage portions of the stand for sustainable pine-straw production.

That creates the potential for something especially important to BondFire Ranch: an annual agricultural revenue stream that can help offset the operating costs of our nonprofit and support the programs and people we serve.

The trees we're planting today could someday help fund the Ranch programs serving tomorrow's veterans, first responders, families and community.

That's why we're calling this project:

🌲PLANTING OUR FUTURE🌲

We're planting trees.

We're restoring and creating habitat.

We're improving our land.

We're creating an outdoor classroom.

We're developing volunteer opportunities.

We're learning to become better stewards.

And we're working toward greater long-term sustainability for BondFire Ranch.

Most importantly, we're doing work today whose greatest benefits may not be realized for years—or even decades.

A veteran may plant a tree.

A child may plant another beside it.

A volunteer may return five years later and see how much it has grown.

Twenty or thirty years from now, someone may walk beneath those same Longleaf Pines and never know the names of all the people who helped create that forest.

But they'll know somebody cared enough to plant it.**

OUR CURRENT ROADMAP

🔥 August 11, 2026— Firebreak
🔥 September 1–4, 2026— Prescribed Burn Window
🚜 September 8, 2026— Subsoil & Scalp
🌱 Fall 2026— Site Preparation & Planting Layout
🌲 Winter 2026–27— Longleaf Pine & Hardwood Planting
🌳 Spring/Summer 2027— Establishment, Monitoring & Management
🌼 Fall 2027— Pollinator Habitat Planting
🔥🌲 2028 & Beyond — Maintain, Learn, Manage & Grow

We will continue sharing the journey and announcing individual volunteer and learning opportunities as we reach each phase.

If you have a group that would like to volunteer, have equipment or resources that could support the project, have expertise you'd like to share, or simply want to come out and learn alongside us, we'd love to hear from you.

The work starts now. The trees come next. The impact could last for generations.

🌲 Come help us Plant Our Future.🌲

08/09/2026

Dear Community Partners, Service Organizations & Business Owners,

BondFire Ranch is excited to invite you to join us for our 3rd Annual Stars & Strides Fall Festival on Saturday, November 7th, 2026, at BondFire Ranch, 631 County Road 16, Clanton, AL.

This community celebration brings together active-duty military, veterans, first responders, their families, and our community for a day of fellowship, and fun. After last year’s first cast event, this year we’re planting trees to create our very own Long Leaf Pine farm at 3:30 PM!

🎉 Event Details
Date: Saturday, November 7, 2026

Location: BondFire Ranch, 631 County Road 16, Clanton, AL

Vendor Setup: 10:00 PM – 12:00 PM

Festival Time: 12:00 PM – 5:00 PM

Planting Ceremony: 3:30 PM

🌟 Festival Highlights
Live Music & Entertainment

Fishing Fun at the Pond

Horse Interactions

Kids’ Activities & Ranch Games

Veteran & Military Family Resources

Food, Local Vendors & More!

We’re welcoming vendors and service organizations to host booths and connect with an expected audience of over 200 guests. Whether you're sharing services, crafts, food, or support resources, your presence will help make this a meaningful and memorable event.

🛠️ Vendor Information
Fee:

FREE for Military and Veteran Service Organizations

$25 for vendors selling products

Space: 10' x 10' (no tents, tables our chairs provided by BondFire)

Note: No power hook-ups available; trailers welcome

🎁 Support the Silent Auction & Raffle
Our Silent Auction and Raffle will help fund year-round equine-assisted learning and wellness programs. Donations of items, services, or gift baskets are welcomed and will be recognized at the event and in our promotional materials.

To reserve your vendor booth or contribute to the auction/raffle, please contact:

📧 Brian Eddy – [email protected]
📧 Kim – [email protected]
📞 Call/Text – (302) 399-4612
🌐 Donate or sponsor online: https://www.bondfireranch.org/donations-sponsors/

Thank you for your support in helping us celebrate and serve those who give so much. We look forward to welcoming you on November 7th for a day filled with healing, horses, and planting!

With appreciation,

Brian
G. Brian Eddy, Col (Ret), USAF
Founder & President, BondFire Ranch

Donationsrichard-admin2024-06-19T06:21:15+00:00 Donate BondFire is a 501c3, non-profit charitable corporation that is governed by a volunteer board of directors. All veterans, first responders, and their families participate free of charge. In order to meet our operating budget, our fundraising even...

08/08/2026

🔥 BondFire Ranch Weekly Update – 2–8 August 2026 🔥

It has been a busy but incredibly rewarding week at BondFire Ranch! From welcoming a new Veteran family to putting boots on the ground for our Longleaf Pine Project, supporting an important new resource for Alabamians living with traumatic brain injuries, welcoming back one of our Homeschool Wranglers, and receiving some exciting grant news—there was plenty of goodness happening around the Ranch.

🐴 Monday – Welcoming a New Veteran Family

Monday started with a visit from Army Veteran Chris, his wife, and their daughter. They toured BondFire Ranch, learned more about our mission and programs, and spent some quality time grooming Beautiful.

Their daughter was absolutely thrilled to be around the horses. By the end of their visit, she had built up the confidence to lead Beautiful back to the pasture herself!

Sometimes it’s the simplest moments that remind us why we do what we do. Watching confidence grow through a connection with a horse is pretty special.

🌲 Tuesday & Wednesday – The Longleaf Pine Project Begins!

After months of planning, our nearly 15-acre Longleaf Pine, Hardwood, and Pollinator Project officially started moving from paper to the ground this week!

On Tuesday, David (our Long Leaf Pine expert and advisor) and Brian made the drive to Selma to pick up the chemicals needed for the first phase of pasture preparation. A big thank you to @ Central Agronomy of GreenPoint Ag for their support and assistance.

Of course, before you can spray, the equipment has to cooperate! We also needed to do some sprayer maintenance, and we are grateful to Garrison Farm & Home Center and especially Rick for sharing his knowledge and helping us get the parts we needed.

Then it was time to get to work. David, Barry and Brian loaded the sprayer, and between Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday the pasture and hard word area spraying was completed. On Wednesday, Brian and Warren also tackled spraying the fence line.

This is the first physical step toward transforming this portion of BondFire Ranch. There is still plenty of work ahead, including preparing firebreaks, conducting a prescribed burn, and planting our Longleaf Pines and hardwoods this winter. Our pollinator habitat will follow in the fall of 2027. More to follow.

🇺🇸 Thursday – A New Resource for Alabamians Living with TBI

On Thursday, Brian traveled to Opelika for the opening of Alabama Department of Rehabilitation Services's Traumatic Brain Injury Center at the Bennie G. Atkins Center.

The Opelika location is the second of five TBI centers planned across Alabama, part of a $2.5 million statewide investment. Most importantly, services provided through these centers will be free to those who use them.

Under the leadership of State Traumatic Brain Injury Director, and our friend, April B Turner, the program brings together TBI screening and care coordination, resource navigation, social reintegration, education and training, clinic services, community resource support, a statewide TBI hotline, and Veteran peer mentorship.

This initiative will serve Alabama’s military members, Veterans, first responders, other Alabamians living with traumatic brain injuries, and the families and caregivers walking alongside them.

Brian also had the opportunity to reconnect with many friends and partners from across the state, including Alabama Department of Veterans Affairs, Operation Iron Ruck Foundation, Samson's Strength Sustainable Veterans Project, Inc a 501-c3, COMPASS, BRAVO-Vets, and AL2LA, while meeting some new friends from Flags for Vets.

Events like this reinforce something we believe strongly at BondFire: none of us can do this work alone. When organizations communicate, collaborate, share resources, and understand what each brings to the table, we create a stronger network of support for the people and families we collectively serve.

🌳 Friday – More Land Preparation

Friday brought another day of spraying as we continued preparing the area designated for our native hardwood planting.

Every completed acre brings us another step closer to the vision of creating a Longleaf Pine and hardwood forest that will enhance the Ranch, create new walking and riding opportunities, support conservation, and eventually provide a sustainable source of revenue through pine straw production.

🤠 Welcome Back, Felicity!

We were also excited to welcome Felicity, one of our Homeschool Wranglers, back to the Ranch!

It was great catching up with her and hearing about some of the exciting opportunities ahead in her own journey.

Of course, there was Ranch work to be done! Felicity and Anne fed the herd, began preparing stalls for this winter, and exercised four of our horses.

Our Homeschool Wrangler program is about much more than getting work done. It provides young people with opportunities to learn responsibility, horsemanship, teamwork, service, and the importance of caring for something beyond themselves. We are grateful to have Felicity back with us!

🎉 And Some GREAT Grant News!

We closed out the week with another reason to celebrate: BondFire Ranch has advanced to the second round of the MDRT Foundation Global Grant process!

There is still work ahead and certainly no guarantee of funding, but advancing to the next stage is an exciting milestone.

Opportunities like this are critical as we continue looking for ways to expand our programs, improve the Ranch, and create new experiences for military members, Veterans, first responders, and their families.

We are excited to take the next step and see where this opportunity leads!

❤️🔥 It has been a busy week—but when you look back at everything accomplished, it has also been an incredibly rewarding one.

Thank you to our volunteers, partners, donors, participants, and friends who continue to believe in what we are building at BondFire Ranch. Every relationship, every hour volunteered, every donation, and every partnership helps us continue Warming the Heart of Families.