When life hands you mud, don’t try to squeeze the lemonade out of it. It’s better to leave it be and let it dry out awhile. (And maybe have it analyzed to see what would grow best in it.) That’s certainly a philosophy I’ve come to appreciate. With recurrent flooding episodes that lead to our center’s departure from our estate home, the adaptation to relocating, and new challenges brought on by the pandemic, no amount of planning, discussion or XYZ, seemed to ease the (seemingly) abundant worries associated with the wellbeing of our horses (and barn cats), staff and volunteer family, and the children and adults who count on our health programs.
This past year, I’ve reminded myself that Ride On St. Louis isn’t alone (we’ve been around for almost a quarter-century), and have put obstacles aside for our trust in God and His Divine Plan. With this comfort, we’ve gained opportunities to reflect, center our services around what the community needs and serve with compassion, quality and gratitude. We’ve found creative and meaningful ways to increase services for one another, and each day we’ve had opportunities to help and support each other.
Our Barn Buddies program has provided hundreds of hours of healing to adults navigating emotional and physical illness, and continues to teach new vocational skills through hands-on learning. Our new distanced services brought joy, revitalization and togetherness to the most vulnerable children and adults, who are unable to risk leaving their homes. Our senior equine partners are safeguarded through our Always Home program and guaranteed a peaceful retirement—fitting for their important services. We’re building a strong plan of care to advance our mission, and we look forward to continuing to carry through more efforts like these to greater support our community.
If your values or philosophy resonate with our activities and our mission, please consider us for your charitable giving, especially now during our $20,000 Matching Gift Challenge.
Your support makes a difference to us. Thank you, with all of my heart, to all of you for your actions and efforts this past year, your continued support, and belief in what Ride On St. Louis has to offer.
We thank God for His enduring love and guidance, and wish each of you happiness and health.
Blessings,
Marita Wassman, CEO & Founder
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