Today is the Seattle Foundation’s Give Big campaign. The event helps more than 1,400 local nonprofits raise money and awareness through online donations.
“The idea is to create a sense of excitement around one day in which the whole community comes together to support the nonprofits,” said foundation spokeswoman Mary Grace Roske.
Here at GHA local non-profits are very close to home. As you know we have teamed up with local non-profit The Seattle Architecture Foundation for our youth program Arc.I.Tek which is helping put design in the hands of youth and engaging them in what tomorrow holds. Non-profits are the life blood of our communities providing (at no cost) food, shelter, education materials and care for those who need it most. These are organizations that our community needs and they need our us to keep their doors open and keep helping people.
Today we are going to highlight just one of the many non-profits that this Give Big campaign is helping out – Raven Rock Ranch in Redmond, Wa.
Description: The need is overwhelming- there are over 70,000 cases of child abuse every year in our state. The needs are reconnection of children coming from Child Protection Services (CPS), Foster care, and any other agencies that attend to at-risk children.
Children and teens who have experienced traumatic events feel isolated from their school group, family and their community at large. Raven Rock Ranch pairs a rescued horse with an at-risk child. The experience of connecting to the horse gives each child a starting place to reconnect with the community.
Working together to change lives.Raven Rock Ranch rescues horses from abandonment, neglect and abuse, rehabilitating them both physically and mentally. We then pair the appropriate horse with at-risk youth. A bond of trust is established, which is the first step in the recovery process.Raven Rock Ranch is a safe and supportive place, providing the nurturing environment that allows each child to thrive. The one-on-one interaction of the instructor with each child and horse pair facilitates family restoration as each team works and plays together.
Redmond,
RAVEN ROCK RANCH PROGRAMS
The primary program at Raven Rock Ranch (RRR) is to provide unconditional acceptance to every at-risk child as well as the connection to our horses which brings about a feeling of safety that allows each child to heal. Through the pairing of the at-risk youth and the horse there is a trust that is developed through basic horsemanship which is taught to them in a 6 week program. We use “Natural Horsemanship” with an emphasis on “Liberty Work” to encourage mental and emotional connection between the human and the horse. There is no cost for our students. We are 100% supported by donations.
The second program we have at RRR is to rescue abused and abandoned horses. Some horses we receive will just need to be “re-homed” from an owner who cannot provide for their basic needs (owner will quite likely have the best interest of the horse in mind and may donate the animal to our program), others will truly need to be rescued from situations of neglect and abuse (owner will likely not part with horse unless dollars are involved.) Once a horse is in our care, assessments will be made to see if the animal will work into our program. We carefully evaluate each horse for temperament and reliability.
RECENT SUCCESSES AND CURRENT CHALLENGES
We primarily work with foster children that come from very abusive environments. Therefore we are typically dealing with attachment disorder, anger, abuse, post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and abandonment issues to name a few.These are quotes from the guardians or parents of our riders:“In the first two weeks of “F” time at RRR she went from being the meanest kid in the school to being kind and accepting of others.”
“We feel unconditionally loved and accepted at RRR.”
After several threats of wanting to kill his mother, 10 year old “S” visited Raven Rock Ranch. After his second visit, he said, “I Love You!” His mom hadn’t heard those words in a very long time.
“We have been having a rough week the only thing holding us together right now is Raven Rock Ranch.”
**Our current need is a covered arena so our program can run all year round.**