Nancy's Blog
Every Little Bit
Do you ever notice that a series of unrelated things will seem to gel together as a theme? It strikes me that just like in a family; Dream Catchers needs everyone to be involved. We appreciate our “big” donors—but we also appreciate the acts of kindness that people extend to us every day. This morning Bobby Wood of Golden State Foods Foundation http://www.gsffoundation.org/ presented a check on behalf their employees for scholarships. This will provide funds for four students to ride for one session. Yesterday we had some hay donated by Ms. St. Clair, and the hay man, Steve Smith, donated his labor, a helper, and his truck to move the hay and unloaded it for us. That was incredibly helpful. The day before that Hi-Ho Silver http://www.hihosilveronline.com/about/index.html, a wonderful jewelry store in New Town, Williamsburg gave us a percentage of everything they sold that evening, while we hosted a reception in their store. We didn’t make a million dollars, but we made new friends and old friends and students came out to support the effort. Estelle, who I referred to in my last blog, started this thought by helping us get the specialty fly-off blankets for three of our horses.
We just finished our third camp of the summer- and we could not have done that without the hard work and dedication of our teen-age volunteers. They give what they have- time! And while I am rambling on this note, I have to say, if you are ever disenchanted by teens today, come meet our teenage volunteers! They could be at home, coach potatoes, or hanging at the pool, texting or listening to ipods; but they are here- often from 8:30 a.m. until after 5:00 p.m. Mandy, Hannah, Katie, Chelsea, Courtney, Lindsey, Adam, Cassie, and Ali ( in no particular order), spend time organizing activities, walking next to the horses while the campers learn to ride, fix lunches, and teach them horse handling. They have adult supervision- certified instructor, Gwen Zimmerman, but camp could not happen if it were not for our teen-age volunteers. And a huge percentage of the therapeutic lessons wouldn’t happen either. Yesterday we had our busiest day that didn’t include a special event. Thirteen special education students and ten campers were here at the same time. The parking lot was full! The vast majority of volunteers were our teens. They made the day.
So, the common thread in this ramble is that everyone can do something. It doesn’t have to be a big check- a “little” check helps chip away at the expenses. It doesn’t have to be a full day of service; an hour is meaningful in the life of each of our riders. To each of you who support Dream Catchers, on behalf of our students, thank you. You are making a difference in the life of a child. You are helping them find freedom on the back of a horse.
Horses are loving their new fly preventive blankets
Jake, Charlie and Merlin are thankful for their new Boett Sweet Itch Blankets. They prevent painful fly bites while out in the pasture. Thank you Estelle, from Estelle’s Safety Reflective Wear and Ed from our Board for your thoughtful support. Because of you, these three Dream Catchers horses are much more comfortable!
See All Blogs