Help Special Needs Horseback Riding Program!

Hi. My name is Sonny Mone and I'm the Director of Equestrian Therapy Co-op in Brandeis CA.  Our program provides therapeutic horseback riding for individuals with special needs. It was started in 1974. Like all small organizations we are having difficulties keeping our program afloat during the pandemic. We organized on Go Fund Me this past summer with very generous people helping us make our goal to reach the end of the year. We thought that we would be back to somewhat normal operations by then. Unfortunately, it appears we still have another  3 or 4 months to get through and are asking once again for help to see us through the first quarter 2021.                                                                                                                                               

We have a roster of 25+ students ranging from 6 years old to 25 years old. Since March, our kids have really been affected by not being able to ride. It's the one day of the week they look forward to most!  We hope to be there for all of them when it's safe again, but we need help to continue. Your donation will be used to pay for hay for our 5 therapy horses, vet and horseshoer services, as well as some labor costs and liability insurance. We also know that many of our students families will not recover fully financially. We we want to have the funds in place to provide no cost lessons to those who are impacted when we resume operations.                         
We are a small all volunteer program. Our volunteers are amazing, giving people, who really care about the kids and horses. All proceeds from lessons and donations are used to keep the program running. There is no paid staff.  If we can raise funding by the end of 2020 we can hold on until, hopefully, we return to a full roster in the Spring. It's very difficult to ask for donations again, but If we don't we have to look at the reality of closing.

I've been working with horses and special needs students for 30 years and it changed my life. I'm hoping the program will continue long after I'm gone. This is a critical time for us and with your help I think we can make it. Thank you for considering helping us!