WILLIAMSBURG — Life with Pigs, a local animal sanctuary, has teamed up with Rachel Bolan of Skid Row to raise awareness about alternative Thanksgiving dinner ideas and money for the sanctuary.
Ryan Phillips, the owner of Life with Pigs, grew up as a huge fan of the band Skid Row. When it came time to name one of the sanctuary’s newest turkeys, he honored one of his lifelong heroes, Rachel Bolan, bassist and primary songwriter for Skid Row.
After a video of Phillips singing Skid Row’s “I Remember You” to Jenna, the sanctuary’s rescue cow, Bolan got a hold of the video and shared it on his personal social media. During a livestream shortly after, Bolan joined Life with Pigs in conversation with Ryan.
“I just remember thinking that he was such a down-to-earth guy. At the same time, we also started to notice that a lot of his stories and his posts were directly related to animal rescue topics,” Ryan said.
Ryan and his wife, Mallory, came up with the idea of having Skid Row help them raise money for the sanctuary.
“If we can raise $10,000 for the sanctuary, Rachel has agreed to give up his traditional Thanksgiving turkey dinner in honor of his Life with Pigs namesake,” Ryan explained.
The Rachel Bolan fundraiser, dubbed “Kindness is the Bass-line,” aims to raise $10,000 for Life with Pigs. If that amount is raised, Field Roast will donate a plant-based roast for Bolan to enjoy on Thanksgiving this year. He will also film and share the celebration with his fans on social media.
Recently, speaking about Ryan, Bolan showcased the importance of his work.
“Ryan and Mallory Phillips are unlike anyone I have ever met. They are genuine, kind, interesting and their dedication to helping animals is of Goodall proportions. We need more people like them in the world,” Bolan said.
For Ryan, the experience of getting to know Rachel has been a dream come true.
“It’s seriously just this surreal experience of this guy, who as a kid, I wanted to be him. I thought he was the coolest thing. To have a band and the founder of that band recognize you and the work that you do, and knows who we are, I just can’t imagine anything that will top this in life,” Ryan said.
To learn more or to donate towards the fundraiser, visit lifewithpigs.com.