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GIVING
".A Real and Tangible Impact."
Dear Ride On Supporter
My daughter, Brianna, is 3 years old, has Down syndrome and currently has horse therapy with Ride On.
When we first came to Ride On, Brianna was crawling and creeping, but still not walking independently. That first day was hard. Brianna cried as she and Jitterbug left me and went into the arena. I was a bit sad too, Brianna was in the arena like a big girl, and I was on the sidelines. I often reflect on the fact that I had learned about the pain involved in watching your child growing up for the very first time.
As the weeks went on, Brianna became more and more excited to come to Ride On and see the “horsies”. On Thursday night we would remind her that tomorrow she would get to see Fizz and Sadie. She became more confident in her riding, began to learn to walk, and soon enough she was walking the steep hill up to the arena with minimal assistance. Each week she works with Ruth, her physical therapist on trunk strength and balance and with her speech therapist, Jan who works on expanding Brianna’s vocabulary.
Last summer Brianna and I were lucky enough to be invited to participate in Ride On’s Hoofprints and Heartbeats fundraiser. We were super excited to be able to give back to Ride On while at the same time I was given the opportunity to show off my daughter and brag (what proud parent would not be?!) Brianna blowing kisses to the crowd was priceless! Beyond that, all of the attendees made us feel like superstars. I could not get to the food table without people wanting to meet Brianna and talk to me about what Ride On has done. For parents who sometimes can be made to feel like outcasts amongst other parents, it was so special to have such an inviting, friendly group embrace us! I was given the opportunity to speak about Ride On and as I told the audience at that time – even beyond the direct physical benefits, it means so much to our family and community.
Every day I have to wage battles to ask teachers, politicians, and society to treat my daughter with dignity and equality. Each day I read news about how they will cut government funding, lower educational standards and find new tests to screen out people like Brianna. It is a profoundly devaluing message and can be overwhelming.
The people at Ride On and generous donors such as you provide huge emotional support. You remind us that there are many people who care and wish to provide dignity, respect and a place in the world for people like Brianna. Without your thoughtful support Brianna would not get this valuable therapy and I think it is important to let you know that you are having a real and tangible impact on our lives!
Lastly I feel touched by Ride On’s commitment to serving the disabled for generations to come. The thought of this incredible service being available for those that come after my daughter is both wonderful and rewarding.
Thank you for all of your awesome work!
Brad Pitzele, Proud Parent of Brianna
Make an Impact – Give a Scholarship
My Personal Commitment To You
You are already being inundated with requests for help from many worthwhile causes. Why Ride On? I can only say this: Your donation today will not only help put 5,500 individuals on horseback next year but for years and years afterwards – changing lives each day. No matter how tough the times, we are building a sustainable organization that will, literally, be here for generations of children and adults to come.
In our history we have now given over 63,000 lessons and treatments—safely. We have two permanent homes serving two wonderful communities. We provide thousands of hours of community service to our teenagers, teaching them important, lifelong, lessons. We are the only nationally accredited facility that has Physical and Occupational Therapists and now Speech therapy on staff providing Hippotherapy in ALL of Los Angeles or Ventura Counties. And, yes, we want to do more.
So what’s next in 2012? We will continue to expand our service – carefully and sustainably – to about 6,000 rides a year. We will build our education and therapy building, almost completing it by the end of the year. We’ve raised $600,000 towards an estimated cost of $750,000 so we still need to raise $150,000. For details see www.rideon.org/capacitybuilding.html. In Thousand Oaks, we are working on expanding the hours we can offer service during the winter. This involves an arena lighting project during which we will also renovate the old footing and arena railing. Finally and more than ever, scholarships remain vital to fulfill our commitment to serve those in financial hardship. We target 25% of all lessons and therapy treatments given to be scholarships. Your support in any of these areas will yield dividends next year and beyond.
Ride On has always been a leader in accountability to our supporters and transparency to the public. For years, we have posted our audit and tax forms and more on our website at www.RideOn.org I am very proud of that and it represents my personal commitment to you.
If you haven’t been to our ranches recently or at all, please stop by most anytime between Tuesday and Saturday. Twenty-seven years ago I walked onto a therapeutic riding ranch for the first time. It made a difference in my life. I still think that’s the best way to get to know us and I am sure, if it hasn’t already, that it will make a difference in your life too.
Thank You.
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Thank you
Bryan McQueeney
Executive Director
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