August 2022 Update

August Programming

Offering New Ways to Serve | Jael Ymker, Program Coordinator

Summer is such a busy time for our riders and their families, from vacations to camps, and everything in between. The commitment to a traditional six week riding session at Renew could be too much for some families, so we decided to do something a little different with the month of August.

With the hopes of serving some of our waitlist students and additional community members, we planned camps, riding lessons, and fellowship opportunities open to a variety of individuals.

We continued our partnership with Macauley Therapy Services to offer Speech Camps once again here at Renew. These camps are continuing to have huge impacts on the participants and we hope to continue this partnership for years to come.

For the first time at Renew, we offered Pony Pals, a camp specifically for children currently in foster care or who have been adopted. This camp was geared towards building positive relationships with the horses as well as the other campers.

Drill Team Camp was another new program offering this year where participants spent time creating a drill team pattern, practicing, and then, ultimately, performing with each other.

There were many opportunities for the community to be involved as well. Some of the programs included family & friends lessons, book club, yoga with the minature horses, ponies & parents, and family fun night. There truly was something for everyone to enjoy!

We are so excited to see the impacts of these programs and hope to continue to grow and reach more individuals through equine assisted services.

Appledorn residents attended the Memory Care EAL program and each week spoke words of encouragement and gratitude. On the final day of visits, they were offered the opportunity to speak words of gratitude to their horse for their month’s experience. They could do this in their own hearts or out loud. As if on cue, all began to speak out loud – such lovely, lovely words of gratitude and joy and encouragement! They were speaking in unison, each with her own words, and it sounded like a prayer! The Holy Spirit was present at that moment!

Teresa Harrington, Instructor

---

Upcoming Events

For those of you who attended last year’s fall events, you can attest to how much fun the Roundup weekend truly is! We’ll kick off the fun Friday night, September 16, with the Renew Roundup BBQ Dinner Fundraiser. Put on your cowboy boots and come to the farm for a night of celebration, square dancing, great food and drinks, a special presentation, fun games, and more all while helping to support the mission at Renew. Get your tickets today!

Friday, September 16
5:30-8:00P
Renew TRC
5080 146th Ave
Holland MI 49423

Then on Saturday, September 17, is the Blessing of the Horses and the Fall Festival. This is a free day of fun on the farm for the whole family. We’ll gather in the indoor arena at 1:00P before we head out to the paddocks to pray over our equine partners. Then at 2:00P we’ll kick off the Fall Festival. Everything is free at this family-friendly event. There will be a bounce house, carriage rides, hay rides, barrel train, face painting, snacks, and more. There will also be Renew apparel available for purchase.