Vinnie the Mini & Volunteer Catalina

A Message from Our Board Chairman

Howdy All, I want to say thank you to our donors (individual and corporate), our grantors, our volunteers, and staff that together made it possible for Hearts to ride out the pandemic in 2020 and give us a healthy start to 2021.  Utter dedication from the staff and volunteer teams, and their complete willingness to comply with all health and safety guidelines, allowed our participants and their families to feel comfortable coming to Hearts. Of course, we couldn’t do this without the financial support from our community, as well. According to participants and caregivers, Hearts provided a safe outdoor experience that allowed both riders and their families to leave COVID-19 stressors behind - even if just for an hour or so. And now we look forward to 2021. We are still scaled back and will continue that approach until we can safely go back to “full scale Hearts” later this year. Thank you again for keeping these great programs going. Thom Bateman Board Chairman

Investing in Your Community Whether it be time or money, a donation to a local nonprofit is an investment. And not just an investment in that organization, but an investment in your community and your neighbors.  Hearts wouldn't be here without its community investing in its programs. Here's what your investment in Hearts looked like in 2020: Individuals Served 200 Lesson Hours Completed 642 hours Volunteer Hours Completed  6,253 hours Facility Updates  New sand in horse stalls Improvements to the round pen New handwashing station And our work is not done!

2020 presented hearts with unprecedented challenges. While we were initially devastated at the reality of not serving the majority of our therapeutic participants, we also heard a call to serve our community in other and equally meaningful ways.  We started with Minis on the Move to lift our community's spirits as COVID took hold. We quickly were reminded how our horses could influence mental and emotional health. With this in mind, we listened to what our community was asking for and aimed to deliver.  We experienced a significant increase in phone calls and emails reaching out for mental wellness from all ages. We answered. We created the HorsePower program for elementary school-aged children coping with the emotional struggles brought on by school closures, a lack of extracurricular activities, and stay at home orders. Our therapeutic riding program was able to resume 40% of its pre-pandemic programming to help individuals navigate mental and emotional health challenges.  Although we still have many limitations, we also have found new opportunities to use our wonderful herd to help our Santa Barbara community cope, heal, and grow. Kristen Kallai Program Manager

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Hearts Therapeutic Equestrian Center | (805) 964-1519 | info@heartsriding.org | www.heartsriding.org