By Colleen Cheechalk | Project Leader
Dear Friends,
First, I would like to apologize for the delay in sending you a timely update from The Center, it wasn't our intention to be distant, as we truly appreciate your support and always hope to keep you up to date.
The last 18 months have been difficult. I have been fighting against life threatening illness, which has meant our ability to raise funds for the services we offer has suffered, just as much as my ability to deliver them. This is something that all micro-organizations face, and unfortunately, we were not immune. For over a decade this work has been a labor of love, but now with my declining health, and our dear horses beginning to seek a quieter pace after delivering thousands of hours of programming, we believe it is time to step into a new role in the field of Equine Assisted Therapies and Activities, and leave a legacy of our good work in the form of change for this growing, but sometimes confused industry.
Effective June 1st, 2016 The Center For Equine Assisted Wellness began a new mission, the research and development of programs and practices that not only enhance the wellness of the client, but also of the horses that make equine assisted therapies possible. Far too often the horse becomes a neglected part of these life changing experiences, and that was the reason we created our organization in the first place...to ensure that the delivery of equine assisted experiences never caused harm or inflicted pain on the equine who gives so selflessly.
We will be delivering the last of our current Center services throughout the month of September, and we will complete the change of mission beginning November 1st. At that time, instead of session based services, we will be offering a single session each year in the fall, which will serve as a pilot program for the research and testing we will complete throughout the year on our host farm. The results will be analyzed, and programming will be created from the pilot programming which will be offered to established 501c3 equine assisted programs as both curriculum, and training opportunities. Our goal is to make the industry we love better than it has ever been, with programming that is sensitive to the needs of human and equine, and has scientific research behind it to make it more widely accepted by the public, insurance providers, and the scientific community. This change will mean that our organization will no longer be fundraising as we used to, and because of that, this will be our final outreach on GlobalGiving.org.
We are so grateful to be a small organization filled with passionate volunteers who are commited to this new direction. They too understand that the horses need to be protected, and wish to help make this industry better for all involved. We are also so grateful for all of you, for your support and caring here on GlobalGiving.org since November of 2011. It will seem strange to no longer share our adventures and updates, but we are so thankful that we had the chance to be part of all this and the tools and resources that Globalgiving.org makes available to organizations like ours. There are so many incredible projects here, and you can't help but incredibly blessed to part of a community that does so many life and world changing things.
To you all...a heartfelt THANK YOU. From all of us at The Center.
Warmly and gratefully,
Colleen Cheechalk
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