Our Story

A Place To Be Farm Sanctuary was founded in honor of Debbie Wilhelm. Debbie was known for her kind heart, her stubbornness, and her immense care for animals. She worked at a vet clinic for many years, and in that time, went above and beyond for every single one of those patients. She cared very much for her family, friends, and neighbors. She passed very suddenly and willed her animals, and all the love that came with them, to Beth and her husband Greg. In Beth’s words,

The first couple months of her animals being here were so hard. I couldn't even look at them without getting mad. Not at them, but mad that my mom should still be here and that the world was robbed of such a great person. My life got pretty dark for a while. I think my animals could pick up on a lot of stuff...some became so much more loving, some who usually gave me issues, wouldn’t any more. They could tell. I didn’t have to talk or explain why I was feeling or what I was feeling.... I could go out there and just "Be." That was when I realized that there has to be other people out there hurting and may need an outlet to get over whatever grief, trauma, depression, whatever they may be going though. Thus, A Place to Be was put together.

We dedicate this website, this farm, and all of our love to Debbie. We would have never found each other and created this community without her. We find strife in our lives, in ways we will never expect and never want to expect. But, we hope that at our little farm, that we can help lift the burden, just for a moment, so you have a Place To Be.

Debbie
A pig lying on grass with a dirty water dish in the background.

Our Mission

We are a small livestock rescue committed to rescuing and caring for animals while supporting our community by being a safe place for all beings.

Meet the Team

  • A woman with curly hair, sunglasses, and a gray T-shirt crouched on one knee, holding a small black and white pony by the lead rope in a rural neighborhood with houses, trees, and a car in the background.

    Beth Wilhelm-Atkins

  • A man in glasses kneeling next to a large pig lying on a blanket, petting its head. The man is wearing a gray t-shirt with the words "A Place to Be Sanctuary" and the pig is black and white. There are orange cones in the background.

    Greg Atkins

  • A young woman with shoulder-length blonde hair, smiling, sitting near a brick fireplace.

    Bonnie Harper

  • A young girl with a red bandana taking a close-up selfie with a donkey, holding its lead rope with her hand, in a setting with a blue canopy overhead and another person in the background.

    Ally Davis

  • Woman kneeling on grass, hugging a small pony, smiling. Other people sitting at tables and standing around outdoors in front of a large brick building.

    Brenna C

Contact us

Interested in working together? Fill out some info and we will be in touch shortly. We can’t wait to hear from you!