NATIONAL CENTER FOR EQUINE FACILITATED THERAPY
 

March 2015
 
IN THIS ISSUE

Eat for Good!
Chipotle Mexican Grill Fundraiser

 

Cooks, you officially have the day off on Friday March 13. Whether you are planning an office lunch, dinner and a movie for date night, or feeding hungry kids after sports practice, plan to dine out at Chipotle Mexican Grill in downtown San Mateo, and NCEFT will receive 50% of the proceeds as a donation! Please print and bring in this flyer (or show it on your smartphone or tell the cashier you're supporting NCEFT). Please spread the word to family and friends. Offer (only) good at Chipotle 251 East 3rd  Ave in San Mateo, Friday March 13, 11a-10p. 

 

2015 SPRING CALENDAR
 
MAR 13: Chipotle Fundraiser

MAR 16-20:  BREAK (no sessions)

MAR 23 - MAY 22: Session II

MAR 28: NCEFT @ Mt. Patrol Earth Fair

APR 13-17: Volunteer Appreciation Week

APR 16: Volunteer Appreciation Dinner

MAY 2: NCEFT @ Woodside Town Parade

MAY 5: SV Gives Fundraiser

MAY 17: Spring Fling AR Showcase

MAY 25-29: BREAK (no sessions)

Volunteer Appreciation
7,000 hours. 100s of people. Much appreciation.


 

Did you know volunteers contributed nearly 7,000 hours of time to NCEFT last year? NCEFT simply could not function without the dedication of the hundreds of volunteers who give their time and energy so freely to us. Teens to retirees, corporate employees to grandparents, students to veterans, our volunteers are diverse and unique, but all singularly focused on helping our patients reach beyond their boundaries. April 13-17 is a special week around the barn when we take a moment to formally say "thank you" to these very special people. Volunteers, mark your calendar for the evening of Thursday April 16, for our Volunteer Appreciation Dinner. Check with Megan at volunteers@nceft.org for more details. 

 

Spring Fling AR Showcase
Come see our AR students shine!

We are thrilled to announce the first (hopefully annual) Spring Fling Adaptive Riding Showcase, scheduled for Sunday May 17 . From 1p-4p, our covered arena will be an exciting place as our Adaptive Riding students will have the opportunity to show off their horsemanship skills to family and friends. Adding to the show atmosphere will be riding demonstrations and games by NCEFT staff and friends. Refreshments and goodies will be served. Admission is free, and this event will be open to the public. Come see our AR riders shine! NCEFT gratefully acknowledges Board members Susan Lang and Peter Caraher and their families for sponsoring this special day. Click here for more information. AR Students: to sign up, please fill out this Participation Form and return to Oona or the front desk by March 27th  to participate.

 

AmazonSmile: It's not just for holiday shopping! You shop, Amazon gives all year through! Simply start your Amazon shopping at smile.amazon.com and NCEFT will receive a % of your purchases as a direct donation from Amazon at no additional cost to you! 


About Us
For more than four decades, NCEFT has helped thousands of children and adults with special needs move beyond their boundaries through the healing powers of the horse and the skills of dedicated professionals and volunteers.  Internationally recognized as a leader in the field, NCEFT offers Hippotherapy, Adaptive Riding & Carriage Driving, Veterans programs and School programs at its beautiful,12-acre facility in Woodside, California. We are a 501(c)3 organization, Top Rated on   www.GreatNonProfits.org and a bronze www.GuideStar.org participant.

 


 
National Center for Equine Facilited Therapy - NCEFT
880 Runnymede Road
Woodside, CA  94062
(650) 851-2271
 

 

Anticipation...is making me wait!

 

Much to the dismay/amusement of my family, I have become...A Chicken Lady. Last summer I took a backyard chicken keeping class in Santa Cruz and graduated with 3 peeping chicks, a heat lamp and coop-building plans. All fall I worked with the chickens every day, handling them, feeding treats (they especially love fresh dandelions I pull from my lawn). They seemed to grow up overnight. I delighted in watching 

 smooth glossy feathers replace fluffy down. As they reached full size, the anticipation of eggs began to build. Due to start laying around New Year's, every day I expectantly checked the nesting boxes with hope of finding three eggs. One started laying in mid-January, and finally last week the other two kicked into the egg production business. The anticipation seemed interminable, but the wait well worth it.

 

Writer and evolutionary biologist Steven Peck writes, "Anticipation is a gift. Perhaps there is none greater. Anticipation is born of hope. Indeed it is hope's finest expression." There is nothing better than seeing the look of anticipation on our patient's faces as they walk up the path to the arena for a session. Truly, it never gets old and never fails to delight. Age doesn't matter. Gender doesn't matter. Diagnosis doesn't matter. Every patient or student has that moment of anticipation that embodies the hope and excitement they have to spend time with their horse. It is a joyful thing to see.

 

As you will read below, we are planning all sorts of exciting events this spring. The anticipation is growing for dinners, Volunteer Appreciation week, Silicon Valley Gives and our newest event, the Spring Fling Adaptive Riding Showcase. My hope is you will be able to join us for these many special events and to delight in the anticipation of time spent together in support of NCEFT.

 

Cluck, cluck!

Cherie Hammer

NCEFT Development Director

SV Gives
Get that giving feeling!

We are counting down the days until Tuesday May 5. Sure it's Cinco de Mayo, but more importantly it is the second annual Silicon Valley Gives. SV Gives is a 24-hour online day of giving for non-profits based up and down the SF Peninsula. Last year's event was a great success, and we raised over $37,000. Our goal is to top that amount, but we can't do that without your help. Stay tuned over the coming months for more details on how you can help make the day a success. We would appreciate you spreading the word to friends and family encouraging them to support NCEFT. We are planning to have information/giving tables set up at Robert's Market and Springdown Equestrian as we did last year, and are planning a special event here at NCEFT that evening. We are currently soliciting matching grants; if you or your business are interested in sponsoring us, please contact Cherie Hammer, NCEFT Development Director at cherie@nceft.org

 

If you want to get a jump on your donation, you can go to our SV Gives page and schedule your donation today (it won't be processed until May 5)


Staff Spotlight: Holly Wittman
You say toe-ma-toe, I say ta-ma-toe! 

This issue's Staff Spotlight highlights NCEFT Speech Therapist, Holly Wittman. Hippotherapy  is an amazing therapeutic practice, but to me watching Holly conduct speech therapy on horseback is nothing short of awe inspiring. Many of us take speaking for granted and don't realize that speech and language development is not just about what occurs in the mouth. Organization and integration of the sensory systems and core strength, trunk control and breath support are important parts of speech development.  The ability to register speech and language, attend to it, and process it is all related to these systems working. In a speech hippotherapy session, the horse's movement triggers all these systems, enabling Holly to focus on speech and language development with her patients in remarkable ways. Her dedication to NCEFT and per patients is as genuine as her Southern charm. Here are a few tidbits about Holly. 

 

Cherie: Where were you born?

Holly: Fort Benning, GA (on the army base)

 

C: How long have you been with NCEFT?

H: Nearly 3 years


C: What's the strangest job you have ever had? 
H:  Working the 3rd  shift in a plastics factory and falling asleep on me feet!

 

C: Chocolate or Vanilla?

H: Chocolate. Dark chocolate.

 

C: What's your favorite horse color? 

H: Paint (like my horse)

 

C: If you could visit any place in the world, where would you go?

H: Venice, Italy.

 

C: What is your favorite non-horse related activity?

H: Spending time with family, swimming, & reading.

 

C: iPhone or Android?

H: iPhone!


C: Last book you read?
H:  Bread & Wine: A Love Letter to Life Around the Table , by Shauna Niequist.

 

C: Favorite cartoon character?

H: Underdog