With months of planning, organization, and legal filing for our non-profit status behind us, we continue to move ahead in expanding our program to meet the “special needs” of our riders. We are grateful to Julie Frazier who has graciously allowed us to descend on her beautiful facility each week in order to lease arena time and provide programs to our youth (ages 4-26) with disabilities in Marquette County.
We continue to have a waiting list of approximately 15 students. This indicates that we need to continue to work to expand our program in an effort to support the present riding population as well as those waiting for services. Therefore, additional funding will continue to be a part of our future planning. In addition to adding new funding resources, we hope to continue working with those local foundations and agencies that have so generously supported us in the past in the hope that they will continue to see the unique benefits we promote to a “special needs” population with our community based instruction. These are opportunities provided to children who are offered very limited options for recreation within our community.
We also recognize that it will be necessary to continue to ask our participants to assume responsibility for partial payment of their riding experiences. To date we have been able to provide full payment scholarships to Bay Cliff students who participate in a four week riding program each summer and partial payment scholarships to the remainder of our riders. In addition, we see a need to seek financial support outside of our community as our expansion efforts grow and mature.
We are sincerely grateful to the YMCA of Marquette for their generous support of our program. They have graciously provided our insurance coverage each year. The following is a list of both past and present financial support received in the past five years. This is a wonderful tribute to the example we set forth as a caring community. Thank you Marquette. In an effort to support our “caring community” philosophy, Willow Farm Therapeutic Riding donates a four week group riding session for children at Bay Cliff Health Camp and provides a full scholarship for each rider.
FUNDING SUPPORT
2000
Kellogg Foundation Grant
2001
Frazier Foundation Kellogg Foundation Grant Marquette Community Foundation "Put the YOU in Youth"
2002
Dr. James Lovell Dr. Michael Nidiffer Dr. Steve Morris Frazier Foundation Hirvonen Foundation Joe Berry Memorial Fund Marquett Community Foundation M.Davenport Foundation Paschal Memorial Fund Reynolds Foundation Upper Peninsula Rehavilitation Center
2003
Frazier Foundation Hirvonen Foundation Kaufman Foundation Marquette Community Foundation M. Davenport Foundation Paschal Memorial Fund Reynolds Foundation
2004
Bart and Kris Bartkowiak Nancy Bradbury Barbara Coleman Bryan and Jennifer Havemeier Hiawathaland Farm Bureau Hirvonen Foundation Kaufman Foundation Marquette County Horse Club M. Davenport Foundation Molly Noland Paschal Memroial Fund Reynolds Foundation June Schaefer