- [Worker] Come on in.

(peppy music) - [Dara] It's a day full of brand new emotions for these little ones buzzing around the Rescue Ranch.

(child laughs) There's excitement, shock, and even fear.

- You wanna try?

Would you like to see Mommy try first.

- [Dara] For many of these kids, it's their first time coming face to face with exotic animals like Lucy, the ball python.

- 'Cause most people, at some point in their life, they develop a a fear of snakes, right?

You know, they're the bad guys.

They're gonna bite me, they're gonna bite me.

So do you see her sticking her tongue out like that?

She's sort of sensing who's around her, but I like to tell people that I've never been bit by a snake, but I'm been bitten by many kittens.

Have you ever pet a snake before, Foster?

- [Woman] Pet a snake before?

I know.

- Good job.

- [Dara] As the Humane Education Manager, it's Todd Fowler's job to teach kids like Maddie how to positively interact with these animals and hopefully along the way have them conquer their fears.

- I'm so proud of you.

- [Dara] All of this is part of the vision founder Krissie Newman had when she started the nonprofit back in 2012.

(happy music) - I was just looking for something to make an impact in our community.

I worked with a lot of different humane societies in our area and the educational piece was something I felt was really missing.

- [Dara] Krissie, originally from New Jersey, is a mom of two girls, Brooklyn and Ashland, who share her love for animals.

- [Krissie] It's been awesome to see them as little, tiny kids crawling on the floor, holding snakes or holding one of our Guinea pigs and just, they have no fear now of any animal.

Your scales on the bottom are long and rectangular, and they all move individually.

- [Dara] They were part of her motivation in making sure other kids also understand how important creatures are to our world.

- Say hi.

- It teaches them empathy and compassion and respect for all living things.

And I feel like this day and age with how politics are and how the way of world is and how tough school is for kids, it gets them outside.

It gets them environments where they're putting their phones down and they're connecting with something on a very different level.

- So this is Remy and he is one of our fancy rats is what they're called.

- But the ranch isn't just about people.

It serves as a sanctuary for over 80 animals.

Big and small.

- Do you want to pet?

You can come on over.

Good job.

- [Krissie] All of our animal ambassadors come from different owner surrender situations, hoarding cases, they all have a story.

So after they've been through our program and we use them in our programs, they are here for life.

- You wanna feed him a snack?

- Yep.

- [Dara] Here for life means kids like 7-year-old Andrew Owen get to continue bonding with their furry friends.

- He's autistic.

And so for him, coming into new environments and new spaces can be difficult and he really enjoys all the animals here and all the hands-on sensory time.

- His mom, Erin, says the time he spends with animals at the ranch has taught him a new way of communicating.

- He was nonverbal for several years.

And so animals don't expect you to talk.

And when you don't have words, animals are very accommodating and they're very understanding whereas humans might expect you to respond back.

So him and animals have always had a special bond and he really is calm around them.

- [Dara] And if you step outside... - Otis, come on, come on big boy.

- [Dara] You'll find volunteer Carol Ruxton creating friendships of her own with the barn animals like Otis, the giant Holstein cow.

- I'd like to think that some of the animals have kinda gotten to know me.

And so it's sort of like they depend on you.

And so I think that I'm just hooked.

You're so good.

You're such a beautiful thing.

- [Dara] It's a connection she never knew was possible.

- I lived the bulk of my life in Wisconsin and I never had this kind of opportunity to sort of interact, touch animals.

- [Dara] Now it's a feeling of peace carol can't let go of.

- You can't interact with these animals without a sort of sense of calmness coming over you.

Come on you guys, you can share.

- [Dara] Even something as simple as her feeding the sheep Cheerios, which they love oh so much, helps with the overall goal of the organization.

(sheep bleats) - Physically interacting with them helps them be better ambassadors with the children.

It's the children coming here to learn about the necessity of really caring for animals.

We hope that later in a bigger picture, they take that idea into their lives.

- You got it.

- Which is what keeps moms like Amanda Scott and her 3-year-old son Archie coming back, - Fingers up, ready go.

It's good just to get him out and about and to see animals that you don't normally see, like the snakes and the rats.

So it's just good for him to see all those things in real life rather than just pictures at home.

- Do you wanna hold him?

- [Dara] So whether they're learning to be gentle with a new species... - [Volunteer] See how we have our safety circle right here so that we can keep him nice and cozy and comfortable.

- [Dara] Or happily making new friends.

- [Volunteer] I think you've made a friend.

- [Dara] The folks at the ranch, hope this cycle of kindness continues in the lives of every child that visits.

For "Carolina Impact," I'm Dara Khaalid.