HUGE thanks goes out to Gumz Farms for their support of our program. They adopted our program this year and are sponsoring us through the Tribute Feeds partner program. They save their proofs of purchase each month and we receive 25 cents for every bag. Now, Gumz is a giant, gorgeous Quarter Horse farm and they go through lots of feed each month, and that ended up being a donation to our program of…

$357.50 for this quarter.

Yes, you read that right…

$357.50! That’s a lot of feed!

We cannot thank then enough for choosing to sponsor us this year, it will make an incredible difference in the lives of the children and adults we serve. Our largest expenses are related to feed and care of the horses, and sponsorships like this make it possible for us to continue to do what we do, and do it at no charge.

To all of our friends at Gumz Farms in Kentucky..THANK YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!! We appreciate your generous support of our program!

This year there are some exciting changes, including the shift to year round programming. By offering services all year we are able to meet the needs of all the children and adults who can benefit from our recreational services, and offer continuing therapy to Hippotherapy clients.

But we have more news, and we want to introduce you to a new team member. His name is Dumplin’ and he was born in February of 2012. He was hand made for us by Frankie Lovato Jr. of the Wooden Horse Corp. He is an Equicizer and he will help us in so many ways!

Dumplin' the Equicizer

Please excuse the mess, we are still under construction!

Dumplin’ will live in the barn, which has been brightly painted, has large windows and doors to let in natural light. Has upgraded electric and will be climate controlled with heat and air. Carpet is down, the walls, trim and restroom still need to be finished but for now we can use and enjoy it!

Just a reminder to our student and client families, volunteers and therapists, we will have our dedication for the Dumplin’ and the therapy room this Saturday at 3pm. Please come and visit and give Dumplin’ a try. We will have food, farm tours, and you can check out the progress out back too! The arena is leveled and seeded with soft springing footing, the classroom is shaping up beautifully, we have a tack room and a seasonal restroom too! We have been busy, busy, busy!

We hope to see you this Saturday!

Meet our new Equicizer! Look for the special corral and our sweet Collie, Captain. We will have demonstrations on the Equicizer throughout the day and every hour (except for noon-1pm) we will have story time in the corral. Curl up and hear a farm yard tale and then read aloud to Captain! Volunteers will be on hand to explain our programming, help you get signed up, and much more. At noon on Saturday and Sunday we will take the Equicizer to Center Court for a riding and vaulting demo and a chance to learn more about what we do at Borrowed Freedom.

Come on out and see us!

During the months of November and December 2011, our friends, family, students and volunteers spent hours sharing information about our fundraising project, “Provide Equine Therapies for 10o Children in Need” on GlobalGiving.org. and as of today we are just $110 dollars away from having our $6000 project goal fully funded. Last week we received our first deposit from GlobalGiving.org and yesterday we officially kicked off the project by purchasing the most important piece…the Equicizer.

I know many of you aren’t really aware of what this incredible piece of equipment is, and why it is so important to us. It is not a replacement for the horses, but instead it will be a wonderful additional team member that doesn’t eat, require vet visits or a manure fork! We will be able to continue lessons throughout the year and not have to cancel for rain or extreme heat or cold. It will play an important role in our evaluations and will eventually become a large part of our research projects.  We anticipate many years of use from our new tea member!

We will begin work on the therapy room soon and the Equicizer should be here sometime in March. What need right now is a name! The Equicizer we ordered is a tan Buckskin with a black mane, in honor of our dear founding program horse, Paco. We are hoping that you can help us by sharing your suggestions, and we want to make it fun so we are having a contest. For a $5 entry fee you can enter your choice of a name. It can be a male or female name, famous or not. We are hoping to receive 100 entries and the funds raised will be used to provide two scholarships for Hippotherapy.

Please use the button below to enter!

If you would like to see the Equicizer in action and learn more about how it works, please watch the video below.

We will draw a name and announce the winner of the contest on May 5th, 2012 during our dedication here at the farm! Good luck!

Even if we hadn’t secured our place, the experience would have still been worth all the effort. The training, tools, networking and support offered by GlobalGiving are second to none.

Here are a few interesting details about GlobalGiving:

• Since 2002, GlobalGiving has raised $57,639,418 from 247,836 donors who have supported 5,193 projects.
• Each week, about 40,000 individuals visit GlobalGiving’s website, offering great exposure for our  projects!
• GlobalGiving received $5.2 million in donation volume in 2010 through partnerships with dozens of American and international corporations including Nike, Dell, Lilly and Discovery.
• GlobalGiving’s projects raised close to $1 million during matching campaigns in 2010.
• Giving tools—tribute cards, fundraisers, etc.—make it easy for us to expand our donor base and encourage donors to stay connected.
• GlobalGiving’s well-respected reputation gives donors and companies added assurance in donating to our project. Donors and corporations know that we have been carefully vetted through a comprehensive due diligence process.

And some more very wonderful news…we welcomed Simon to our program on New Years Eve morning. He is a big, beautiful Sorrel Quarter Horse with heart as big as the farm. I fell instantly in love with him…as did Ally, Grace and Todd! He is acclimating himself to the farm and starting to fit in perfectly. We love him already!

We started December off with the Endicott Holiday Parade. Oh my goodness, it was so much fun! The Binghamton University Equestrian Team came along to march with us and some of our students and volunteers. They did an incredible job getting Rye and Firefly dressed and handling them during their very first parade. Many thanks to Ingrid for trailering us too!

The next week Ally and I headed up the road with Sabastian and Amelia for the Union Center Fire Company’s Children’s party. They were so funny!

We finished off the Windy Hill Candle Factory fundraiser with $315! Special thanks to Joan for all her hard work, she sold 46 candles! That is almost two months worth of hay for the crew! We also are doing very well in the GlobalGiving.org Winter Challenge. I am not sure if we will meet the $4000 for 50 or more donors, but as of right now, we have raised $2500! Let me tell you what this means to us…

Our cost to operate Borrowed Freedom each year is approximately $12,500. Because we are a new organization, we have been increasing our budget gradually as we can with Todd and I funding the majority of the program. We aren’t rich people, you know that. We are a single income family like most of you are. There have times this year, especially after the flooding, that we thought we would have to severely cut back what we are able to offer in 2012 because donations and support were down do much because of the economy. To finish off 2011 with a two successful fundraisers, and to start 2012 with $2500 in donations is an incredible thing for us! With the horses fed, insurance paid, lesson and craft supplies stocked (thanks Joan!) we can not only start our season in 2012 as planned with a full schedule and no wait list, but we can continue to offer lessons through the winter (weather permitting!). Your support and commitment to this program has made it possible to keep the barn doors open AND expand our programming. Because of the GlobalGiving.org challenge we have reached new friends and supporters as well, so this was a win win opportunity for us. Now, it isn’t over YET! We have until 12/31/2011 at 11:59pm to reach our goal. Please continue to share the link to our project with your friends, family and co-workers. Tweet it, Facebook it, blog it! Every share helps us expand our reach! http://www.globalgiving.org/projects/horse-therapy-children/

And last but certainly NOT least…we will be welcoming a new member to our team. His name is Simon and he is a 24 year young Quarter Horse from the Atlanta area. Simon is a dream come true for us! He is 16hh, and just an impeccable horse. Lovable, loyal and a fantastic horse to be around. Simon will be a therapy partner for Hippotherapy and our learning, Special Olympics, unmounted horsemanship and Therapeutic Riding programs. Todd is busy right now finishing up framing in the classroom for him where he will reside temporarily until he is acclimated to us, and us to him. He will eventually join Katie and Paco in their paddock. He will be leaving on his journey to us this evening and will hopefully arrive by Friday morning. Please join us as we wish him safe travel to us and his new home! Many thanks to Kathryn and her daughter for sharing him with us, we will take very, very good care of him and he will be loved and adored by our family, students and volunteers!

As you can see it has been a very busy month, and it shows no signs of slowing down any time soon! We wish you all a happy, safe, healthy New Year and we thank you for all the support you have given us in 2011. We could not have made it without you! Cheers to a wonderful 2012 full of promise and success for Borrowed Freedom and for all of our students, families, volunteers and friends!

Best wishes!
Colleen Cheechalk
Program Director

Let me share with you some examples of what we could hope to accomplish with this project by the time it closes on December 31st, 2011 at 11:59pm.

• - If we raise $1500 we will be able to provide our Borrowed Freedom Learning Program to 90 participants during the 2012 season.
• - If we raise $2000 we will be able to provide our Special Olympics Program to 30 children and adults.
• - If we raise $2500 we will be able to provide a full 10 week season of Therapeutic Riding for 12 children.
• - If we raise $3000 we will be able to provide a full 10 week season of Hippotherapy for 10 children.
• - If we raise $4000 we will be able to resurface our riding arena that was seriously damaged during the September 2011 flooding, and put in the new fencing that would secure the entire program area. We will also secure our place on the GlobalGiving.org database.
• - If we raise $6000 we will be able to purchase the Equicizer, and finish our Therapy Room.

As you can see, we put donated funds to good work around here! We like to show our donors exactly where their generous support goes! If you can help us reach our goal, please donate today. And you can help us expand our reach by sharing this link on your Facebook page, with your email contacts and with your family and friends. We can even try to earn bonus dollars by being the top number of Facebook shares! There are so many ways you can help!

Here is the link to our project page, please share it everyday! http://www.globalgiving.org/projects/horse-therapy-children/ and as always, THANK YOU to all of our supporters who are helping us make a difference in the lives of children, adults and animals with special needs!

On November 5th, we had our annual Pasta Dinner at the Union Center Fire Station. We had so much fun! We made some wonderful new friends, celebrated successes and raised almost $1000 for the program.

On November 12th we received news that our program had successfully completed the Due Diligence process for inclusion in the GlobalGiving.org Winter Challenge. This is an incredible opportunity for a program of our size, and we were thrilled to have been included.  GlobalGiving.org has a very strict due diligence policy. The people behind every project on GlobalGiving meet the following criteria:

• Their work has significant social impact.
• They have a track record for delivering on promises.
• They are not listed in any terrorist databases.
• Their projects are eligible for international philanthropic donations — so donors in the US receive full tax benefits.

Once Project Leaders, and their organizations meet these criteria, they are officially “GlobalGiving Community Members” and are eligible for funding through GlobalGiving. Project Leaders can then communicate to their networks that they have been authenticated as innovative, trustworthy, effective, and eligible for accepting international donations. Posting our projects on GlobalGiving allows us to access new sources of funding and support.

GlobalGiving evaluates Project Sponsors’ methodologies and procedures and reviews the due diligence done. Additionally, GlobalGiving conducts secondary research and random audits to ensure that the organization meets GlobalGiving’s standards for trustworthiness, quality, and impact.

Our Project, Provide Equine Therapies For 100 Children In Need (#9291), is currently active. We have until December 31, 2011 at 11:59pm to raise $4000 from 50 or more donors. If we successfully reach that goal, we will be offered a permanent place in the GlobalGiving database, and will be eligible for grants, matching opportunities, bonuses and the increased awareness of being part of an international philanthropic organization.

We also launched our first Candle and Candy fundraiser with Windy Hill Candle Factory. We proudly support the buy local movement and our farm has been involved with local efforts for more than a decade. This fundraiser is a terrific way to buy a holiday gift that supports a local merchant, AND a good cause! The fundraiser runs through 12/3/2011, so get your orders in quick! Click here to view the selection and place your order!

One of the best parts of November was the special visitor we had…Lori from Sunkissed Acres made her way here to the Great White North for a visit! We had SO much fun! She brought her son John and we got to show her the wonderful work all those Sunkissed Acres horses do here at the farm.

Thanksgiving was quiet, peaceful and warm. And it was a wonderful close to the very busy month. We have been blessed to be able to keep lessons going throughout the month, thanks to the warm and sunny weather. Today the feel of winter is back in the air and I know I have to face that the season is truly coming to an end. I will miss the students coming every week! A few will still attend weekly or monthly to see their friends and continue the work we are doing (weather permitting!),  but the farm will be closing for the season on December 12th, 2011. You will see us all around town at events, community programs and things like that. And be sure to keep checking the website and Facebook page for news and photos. We will reopen for the 2012 season on April 1st!

Look for the December News on or about 12/29/2011!

Thank you!

Colleen Cheechalk
Program Director

If you are planning on marching with Borrowed Freedom during the Endicott Holiday Parade on Saturday December 3rd, 2011 at 4pm, please contact us by Thursday 12/1 to let us know. We will be meeting here at the farm at 2:30pm sharp and we will be leaving at 2:45 to ensure we get there in time with the horses, goats, dogs and all the people!

If you have a Borrowed Freedom t-shirt, please plan on wearing it and we will have Borrowed Freedom signs for you to carry too. We hope to have everyone join us, so please let Collen know asap at 607-658-3298 (you can just leave a message and let us know how many will attend) or send us an email at programinfo@borrowedfreedom.org.

Thanks!

Lori has an uncanny ability to pick just the right horse for us and if you have spent any time here at the farm, you know first hand how well she has done!

We didn’t have a pile of time to sight see, and I would have loved to take them to Ithaca for the day, but they got to see the “famous” Oakdale Mall and we spent many hours gabbing over coffee. But the best part was that Lori was able to see the joy these horses bring to the students here. She watched a Hippotherapy session and an unmounted horsemanship session, and we were lucky to have wonderful weather! I was so proud to show her how dedicated the horses are to the students and how well they do their jobs.

It was a wonderful visit, and now that she knows exactly where we are I hope to see more of her. Ally and I are also planning to visit her farm in Georgia next year.

Would you like to learn more about Sunkissed Acres? Please visit their website at www.sunkissedacres.com!