Old Souls eyes new home
Yuma Jaycees give land to animal rescue group
The leaders of an animal rescue group, forced to close last year after it was denied a county permit in the face of neighborhood opposition, are starting to dream of their new home after getting an 8.5-acre land donation from the Yuma Jaycees Foundation.
Paula and Isaac Rivadeneira of Old Souls Animal Rescue and Retirement Home said Thursday they’re ecstatic about being able to expand their efforts to rescue geriatric, sick or hospice animals and the potential to leave a long-term impact on the community.
“Something I have been thinking about is how this is allowing us to really leave a legacy to this community. And I never thought about leaving a legacy before this, that this will be here for long after Paula and I are gone,” Issac Rivadeneira said.
A new home, guest cottages and more could be built on the property, about half a mile south of the Yuma Jaycees’ clubhouse at 2577 E. County 14th St., as the couple begins to talk about a sanctuary which would suit their needs.
“All of our animals are old and sick, so we don’t need a lot of outdoor space,” Paula Rivadeneira said. “We need indoor space, somewhere we can put four couches, three for the animals and one for the humans.”
The board of the Jaycees Foundation voted unanimously in favor of donat-
ing the land, now being leased by a farmer who’s just planted cotton on the property, after hearing that Old Souls’ rescue had been curtailed once its permit request was turned down.
“I can see this helping an elderly lady, one who has a lot of animals, and when the lady passes there’s nobody there to provide a home for them,” said Greg Gardner, secretary for the foundation. “It’s just good to know there will be someone in our area who can handle those situations.”
The Jaycees Foundation is an organization for “lifetime members” who used to belong to the Yuma Jaycees, whose members are ages 1840. Foundation members advise current Jaycees and maintain the club’s assets, including property.
Jaycees member Mary Worthen said the foundation is supposed to donate at least 5 percent of its assets to the community every year, but hasn’t been able to the last few years due to cash flow issues.
“So this donation is our way of paying Yuma back for what we haven’t been able to do for the last couple of years,” she said. She said the group owes special thanks to Pat Daly, the farmer who has been leasing the land that has been signed over to Old Souls.
The relocation is subject to the county granting a special use permit to allow the couple to live in the industrial-zoned rural area just south of Marine Corps Air Station-Yuma, a process that is just beginning and should take about four months if there are no hiccups along the way, Paula Rivadeneira said.
The couple had been caring for up to 18 animals out of their home in the Buntin Estates subdivision on County 11th Street just west of Yuma for a couple of years when relatives of a next-door neighbor filed a complaint about alleged conditions at the home. That led to officials finding out the rescue was operating without the permit necessary to have more than five dogs living there.
Other animals on the property, including cats, horses, tortoises, goats and more, were allowed by the zoning at that home, and will be moving to the new location as well.
Widespread support for Old Souls throughout the rest of the community and an online petition with hundreds of thousands of digital signers from around the world could not surmount unified opposition from the neighborhood, which triggered a requirement for the permit to get at least four votes from the Board of Supervisors for approval.
The board voted 3-2 during a tense meeting last November, held in Yuma City Hall’s council chambers to accommodate an audience of more than 200 supporters and opponents of the permit.
The Rivadeneiras are optimistic the county will approve the permit, and are already planning for construction of a new home, and a few guest cottages for the Air BnB guests they had been hosting at their current house, who come expecting to care for and hang out with the animals on the property.
Paula Rivadeneira said the property and buildings will be in Old Souls’ name, and not their own, “so it’ll be there for whoever comes in after us.”
There could also be another home to serve as a residential treatment facility for men recovering from substance addiction to be operated by Hoop’s House, an organization Old Souls has been working with which operates locations in Yuma and Sierra Vista.
Yuma Jaycees President Aaron Allen said the Jaycees will also be collaborating on the project by holding fundraisers and coordinating donations. “If anyone wants to donate their time or money or equipment, please let us know; we’re going to need all the help we can get,” he said.
Old Souls and the Jaycees are planning a pasta dinner on June 9 at 4 p.m. at the Jaycees clubhouse as their first joint fundraiser. Paula Rivadeneira said the partnership is already raising the profile of the service club, which like its counterparts has had to deal with declining community interest.
Membership has gone up over the last year, and Paula Rivadeneira said that when the news was first posted on Old Souls’ Facebook page, “everyone was so excited, it just blew up. Everyone was so happy, and they really wanted to know more about the Jaycees.”
The Yuma Jaycees was formed in 1946, and three years later it backed the record-setting endurance flight credited with attracting the military back to Yuma after the end of World War II. Today they sponsor the annual Silver Spur Rodeo and take on various projects in the community, including its current drive to collect bottled water for the Salvation Army’s summer “Project Cool.”
For more information contact Old Souls at its Facebook page, through oldsouls.org or by calling (928) 362-2634; or the Yuma Jaycees through Facebook or by calling (928) 344-5141.