Provide Care for a Differently Able Child's Pony

Dear Friends of Personal Ponies,

For nearly thirty years we have shared our mission with people which has always been to provide a little magic in the lives of children with special needs.  Although we have always had that mission, we never defined "how old" a child was nor have we ever defined what "special needs" one has to have to participate in our program.  There is a very good reason for that.   Persoanl Ponies believes that there is a child in ALL of us and that everyone of us has some special need.  And because of that, I am so happy to share with you these photos of our work in communities around the country where we have made a difference in the lives of adults that are differently able.   One of our volunteers had a regular visit from an older gentleman who recenlty passed away.  Mike had alzheimers but he loved his time with our ponies.  Mike even came out into the community for hospital visits to share the ponies with people.  As our state director said, "what the mind forgets, the heart remembers"/

The focus of this report is to share with you the depth of what Personal Ponies is about.  The pictures attached should be a good representation of our reach beyond the children that are still the heart and soul of our program. Please stayed tuned for a newly developed mission statement that we will share with you to include the greater reach of our program.

Many thanks for your support.  Truly your support is what allows us to prepare to celebrate our 30th year in 2016.

All the best,

Denise

Links:

• http://www.personalponies.org

Dear Friends of Personal Ponies,

As the year is coming to a close, we have been spending a lot of time working towards new goals and programs for the coming years.  For many years the focus of our program has been on placing ponies in the homes of children with special needs.  The other focus has been on volunteer farms all over the country that host a pair of ponies and share them in their communities.  Maybe having children come to the farm to interact with the ponies or maybe bringing them to the local nursing home, daycare center, hospice, ....you name it!!  

This year and going forward we have created new partnerships around the country with Therpautic Riding Centers , Schools and, soon we hope, a hosptial where our ponies are available to interact with and incorporated into their programs.  There are so many benefits to us, the children adn the programs to have this partnership.  We will be able to reach more children and have our program enhance the existing therapy programs.  The schools love having the ponie part of their everyday life for the children to learn responsibility and care for our poines.  And the hospital will really bring a new element to "making magic in the lives of kids with special needs"

We will keep you posted of our developments as we move forward.  All of your support is so important to us and will help make these new programs a reality in other areas of the country.  Please do share our information with others.  Word of mouth is our best marketing tool.  Enjoy our new website too!!!

All the best,

Denise Chasin

Links:

• ponies for children with special needs

Hello to all our GlobalGiving Supporters,

As I was preparing to create a new report for GlobalGiving, I was reflecting on the past couple of years we have been listed on their website and how grateful we are to have this exposure to so many people we never would have met.  Global Giving has really given us another platform to reach people and share our mission and receive support that is so needed for us to continue our program.

This was the fifth year that I, personally, have been the Director of Personal Ponies.  What amazes me everyday that i sit here and respond to questions, support our volunteers and plan our future, is how many people there are around the country with big hearts that are dedicated their time, energy and finances to be able to make a difference in the lives of children with special needs.  These people are spread out all over the United States and Canada and often our only means of communication is via the internet yet we manage to come together to plan and support each other so we can be there for the children and our ponies.

I don't know if people also realize the breadth of programming we offer free of charge around the country.  Each community is free to develop their outreach in ways that support the community so programming varies all over.  We have people visiting nursing homes, participating in therapturic riding programs, seeing children one on one, visiting hospitals, grieving programs, having people come to their own farms, visitng shcools, offering reading programs and the list goes on and on.

GlobalGiving has become very important to us on a national level because the funds you all have provided are helping us to create a stronger base at a National level in order to support all of our volunteers as needed.  As our program has grown we have needed a stronger National program to be able to market the program, provide accounting and administrative support,and help the volunteers as needed, 

THANK EACH OF YOU FOR THINKING OF US AND PLEASE PLEASE SHARE US WITH YOUR FRIENDS.  Word of mouth is our most powerful fundraising program!

Much appreciation, Denise

Links:

• website
• facebook

Dear Friends and Supporters of Personal Ponies,

As National Director, I am touched daily by all the support we receive from our communities that allow us to continue what we do best, ----  creating a little magic in the lives of children with special needs. Everyday I sit at my desk and have the honor of communicating with all of our volunteers and donors as well.   This gives me a unique perspective on what makes our program successful that I wish I could share with all of you who support us.  Imagine if you will pockets of love and caring scattered all over the country that is expressed through the eyes of a small furry UK Shetland pony who has dedicated his/her life to being the companion to a small child with special needs.  If you can imagine past that as well and consider the impact these ponies have had on their caretakers (our volunteers) as well.  So many people do not realize that our ponies make a big difference in their lives too and as we like to say, "there is a child still in all of us, and certainaly a special need."  So although our program is about creating magic in the lives of these young children, I think it is safe to say they create magic in the lives of those taht care for them as well.  As Ghandi said, "The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others."

Personal Ponies wants to take this project report as an opportunity to THANK all of global giving and its supporters for the opportunity to raise additional funds to support our program.  The funds we collected from Global Giving ths past quarter went directly into our Mallory Travel fund because it is springtime and when springtime comes it usually means ponies are in motion to get to new families and transporting them is very costly.  We have so far moved five ponies from South Dakota to Missouri,  one stallion from South Dakota to New York,  Several ponies within New York went to new caretakers, a pair of ponies went from South Carolina to Maryland, and several ponies in Idaho went to new caretakers, and poines in Indiana are headed to Florida.  That is just a sample of what has taken place the past few weeks as the weather cooperated and our program go in motion.

Thank you all for your continued support and I do hope each and everyone of you have a chance to meet some of our ponies that live near you!

All the best

Denise Chasin

Links:

• Meet our 2014 Theme Child
• Meet one of our ponies
• Join our Fanpage and SHARE

Dear Friends of Personal Ponies,

This certainly has been a winter to test our endurance in so many ways.  As most of you know, our shetland ponies are from the Shetland Islands which are only 30 miles south of the arctic circle. Our ponies history is not an easy one having to forage for food in subzero temperatures and truly their mere existence was a story of "survival".  Many of our ponies that are the core of our breeding program are first generation off the Shetland islands and do not find any difficulty in dealing with this weather.  This is especially true because unlike being on the Shetland islands, no matter how frigid the temps, there is hay, water and a shetler to keep them out of the elements.  

And they are grateful.  You can see it in their eyes.  One of the reasons this breed was chosen for our program was because of their character.  They are survivors.  They are hardy and willing to deal with whatever comes their way.  Many of you are aware that, in addition to surviving sub zero temps, they were also the ponies used in the coal mines in England and then later imported here in the United States to be used.  Again, another testament to their willingness, ability to do whatever is asked of them, and very resiliant nature.   During this time, the ponies were often sent down into the mines and kept in there for months at a time with little food, no air, and no light.  The never complained.  Sad as it was, once the mines became mechanized, there was very little need for the true UK Shetland pony.  The true UK Shetland pony is small, wide, round, hardy, short legs, very docile, and very kind hearted.  Once they were no longer needed in the mines, they were bred to other breeds of ponies to create a pony that would be admired in a show ring or sold for money to the privledged children of the UK or even here in the US for showing.  A new type of pony emerged that was more high spirited and of a different nature.

There are several bloodlines of the "true" UK shetland that date back to the 1800s and earlier that still have that willing, kind disposition and are very much still the hardy pony of the coal mines.  Those are the bloodlines and ponies we have aquired over the years to build our program and make sure that the children we serve have a companion with this temperament.  A pony that is willing to stand for hours while a child that may be awkward on their feet, leans on them and grooms them.  Or a pony that willing stands and listens while a child that needs a friends talks about their struggles in life.  This is the pony we have for our program.   

Although this report is to share with you how your very valuable donations have helped us over the quarter, I felt it was worthy to share with you more about who our ponies are and why they were chosen for our program.  In this very frigid winter, even though our ponies are hardy and do not mind the cold, we have had families that have needed extra help this winter with hay and feed for their ponies.  Several families needed extra support this winter as feed and hay bills are nearly double a normal winter.  And having the donations through Global Giving has been a wonderful source of assistance.

We hope you will share our program with others and let them know that every dollar you donate goes to helping one of the children whose life is changed by having the opportunity to be part of our program.  Do read the story below from our Blog.

Many thanks

Denise Chasin

Links:

• Blog
• http://www.facebook.com/personalponies