From the Director's Desk

The Economy and We Can Ride
Our current economic challenges can be seen all around and are felt daily by each and every one of us. As the price of food, gas, and other necessities increase, our incomes don’t seem to keep pace. Each of us is affected individually by these challenges but so are many corporations and non-profit organizations, including We Can Ride. As always we need each and everyone one of you as a rider or driver, volunteer, or financial supporter. To continue to provide our current services, We Can Ride needs individual financial donations, corporate donations, and family fund contributions more than ever before. Matching company funds from employers, an often untapped resource, are commonly available as well. Please consider a donation today so that We Can Ride can keep making miracles happen for our clients.

What We Can Ride is Doing
Last year We Can Ride was certified by NARHA as a Premier Accredited Program. This means we met the highest standards in the industry and it was only possible due to the incredibly dedicated, passionate and hard working We Can Ride staff. We served approximately 230 riders over the past year which required over 450 volunteers. A recently released study out of Washington University Program in Occupational Therapy sponsored by the Horses and Humans Research Foundation reports,

“We have shown that Hippotherapy is a therapeutic tool that makes a measure able and visible difference in basic skills that form the foundation of the most fundamental activities of every day life…”

Many of you have also seen these same results with our carriage driving and therapeutic riding classes. We Can Ride uses horses to help people discover their abilities.

Perhaps the easiest way to help is…
Tell everyone you know about We Can Ride and why you are involved. Encourage them to visit our web site and call the office for a Discover the Impact 1 hour tour. In preparation for these tours a committee of board members, one instructor and a staff members have produced a We Can Ride brochure and the new logo which has been introduced in this newsletter. Over our 26 year history our logo has been updated and changed several times. This one is designed to reach out to a broader audience and encourage this audience to learn more about how our horses and programs are helping people discover their abilities. We are excited about the potential to attract a broader base of We Can Ride supporters. The brochure and logo will not do this on their own; we need your help in talking to anyone who will listen to you about why and how you are involved in We Can Ride. Your passion and enthusiasm for our program is contagious and we want you to invite potential supporters to a “Discover Impact Tour” which is listed in this news letter and can also be found on our web site. Simply call our office for getting them out to see what you are so exited about.

-Tom Bezek