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| DONATIONS |
To make a tax-deductible donation via secure online form, please click here and look for the yellow "donate" button. Or mail a check to Horses for the Spirit, 4790 Caughlin Parkway # 421, Reno, Nevada 89519
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February E-Newsletter
| February 17, 2011
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Dear Friends,
We're looking forward to a great year ahead! We're getting our volunteers geared up for the upcoming programs and everyone is excited to start another year of partnering humans and horses for positive transformation.
We recently received $500 from the Stollmeyer Family Fund for operating support! We are extremely grateful for this contribution. $500 goes a long way for us... it might pay for some of our rent, or about half of our insurance costs, or some hay for Dudley and Otis, the two horses officially owned by HFTS.
We're also pleased to announce that three Spring and Summer programs have been confirmed with No Child Left Behind Behavioral Healthcare Services. Thanks to the Junior League of Reno for a $2000 grant to help support one of the programs! We'll be starting programs in late April and wrapping up in mid-August.
The support we've received from foundations and organizations in the community is absolutely fantastic and we need your support as well to fully fund each of our programs.
Please consider making a donation to help support the cost of putting a child through a program. Your contribution could help a kid just like Kevin who participated in a program in 2006 and still contacts us regularly to thank us for the powerful and positive impact our program had on him. Read Kevin's story.
Sincerely, Deb Conrad Executive Director |
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 IN THEIR OWN WORDS Feedback from our Fall Participants
I liked the Horses for the Spirit mostly because of the cool horses and people. I won't say the horses were always friendly, but the people definitely were. I thought it was very helpful for the people who have issues with trust. Overall I really liked it. - LP, 14 years.
What I think about the Horses for the Spirit: It was a great program. It taught you about limits and respecting people and animals' bubble space. It also you taught about when to come or go by telling about the animal's body posture. - PM, 13 years.
Horses for the Spirit was really fun. My horse was a big black mustang named Amy. By the end of the program I loved her. The people were really cool...the whole thing was pretty awesome. - CT, 15 years.
I am very happy to have been given the opportunity to participate in the Horses for the Spirit program. I have to admit that I wasn't a fan of it in the beginning but it grew on me. I became really connected with the people and the horses. -DW, 17 years.
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SPRING PROGRAMS
We have  confirmation for three programs starting at the end of April with No Child Left Behind Behavioral Healthcare Services (NCLB). They loved our program so much last year, they've signed up for three this year! We're proud of everyone who contributed to making this kind of impact on the children of NCLB! NCLB is dedicated to helping hard to place foster children in permanent adoptive homes. Executive Director Candia Tolbert works hard to offer the children in her programs various opportunities to learn life and social skills that will help these children better manage their behavior and gain the experience they need to get adopted and reduce recidivism. Horses for the Spirit enjoys opportunities to partner with other like-minded organizations like No Child Left Behind. There are many organizations like No Child Left Behind, Social Services, Kids Kottage and others who are all devoted to helping kids in our community who come from broken homes, troubled backgrounds or who are considered "at-risk" for various reasons learn positive life and social skills so they can move forward in their lives in a positive way. |
 | Cowboy enjoys an affectionate hug from one of the boys.
Just the simple act of touching another being in a kind and gentle manner can have a huge impact on the level of trust and compassion in kids who have trouble appropriately expressing themselves.
These 1,000 pound animals are great teachers because despite their size, they are creatures whose lives depend on knowing who they can trust and who they cannot. This hug was earned through compassionate leadership and building a relationship with the horse. |
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About Us
Horses for the Spirit offers Equine Assisted Learning programs to youth ages 12-19 in Washoe County. Our EAL programs utilize horses as part of the teaching team and offer experiential and problem-based learning opportunities emphasizing positive life and social skills. Our client list includes Social Services, McGee Center, Kids Kottage and No Child Left Behind.
We hope you've enjoyed this newsletter and encourage you to send it to friends, family and colleagues who might be interested in Horses for the Spirit. Please send us an email if you have any trouble viewing this newsletter or if you have questions or comments.
Sincerely,
Robbie Maus, Board President, Program Director, Equine Manager
Erin De Los Santos, Board Secretary
Pam Olivieri, Board Treasurer
Deb Conrad, Board Member, Executive Director
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