News Around the Farm

Did you happen to see The North Penn Reporter on Friday? Ivy Hill was featured on the front page in an article about the North Penn United Way, of which Ivy Hill is a member agency. Here is a link to the article in case you missed it!!

http://www.thereporteronline.com/articles/2008/12/19/news/srv0000004254658.txt

Happy Holidays!! It's hard to believe today starts Hanukkah and Christmas is only a few days away! As we approach this busy time of year, please note the following important dates:

~~No lessons will be held on the following dates in observance of the holidays:

December 24th, 25th, 26th & 31st
January 1st

~~All updated medical forms are due no later than January 31st.

~~Special Olympic training begins on January 2, 2009.

~~The Bucks County Special Olympic Qualifying Show will be held Sunday April 5th at our facility.

~~For those who qualify, Special Olympic state competition will be held in June. Further details will follow shortly.

~~It's already time to think about summer camp!! Next summer, Ivy Hill will hold the following weeks of summer camp:
June 22nd - 26th
June 29th - July 3rd
July 13th - July 17th
July 20th - July 24th
Aug. 10th - 14th
Aug. 17th - 21st
Regiatration for summer camp will open in February.

We wish you all a safe and happy holiday season!!

Ivy Hill Receives $500.00 for Scholarship Fund

Ivy Hill would like to thank the Eden Charitable Foundation for their recent grant of $500.00 grant through a recomendation by the Parlee family. These funds will be used to support The Bonnie Sames Scholarshp Fund at Ivy Hill.

Mrs. Sames was a long time supporter, volunteer and board member of Ivy Hill. The scholarship fund was set up to honor her dedication to Ivy Hill. The scholarship fund is available to any therapeutic student within the Ivy Hill program based on financial need. Financial need is determined through an application process and then reviewed by the scholarship committee. Currently, fifteen students utilize our scholarship program either partially or in full.

Ivy Hill Receives Educational Stipend

Ivy Hill recently received an educational stipend from the North Penn Nonprofit Academy. The funds will be used to join the Greater North Penn Collaborative for Health & Human Services.

The North Penn Nonprofit Academy is a series of workshops and events aimed at bolstering the important work of nonprofit leaders in North Penn's health and human services community. Since 2003, the Academy has offered free, high-quality professional development opportunities to build the capacity of Executive Directors, Board Members, and management-level staff serving the North Penn region. For more information about the Academy and how to become involved, contact Diana Loukedis Doherty, Project Director, at npnonprofitacademy@hotmail.com or by phone at 215-696-9336.

Reminder's for Winter/Fundraiser Opportunity

1- Cold weather is arriving- Ivy Hill will continue lessons most of the winter. Please use your judgment with your/your child's tolerance to the cold. If you are canceling lessons please call us as soon as you can so we can get a hold of volunteers who might be helping in the barn or with the lesson. This way, they know that the horse is not being used or they are not needed on that given day. Ivy Hill will close in extreme cold or bad weather. If schools are closed most likely we will be too. But please call and double check or leave a message you are canceling in case Megan's school schedule doesn't allow her to make phone calls in time.

2-Sarah Smith, one of our instructors, has her own photography business. As a holiday fundraiser for Ivy Hill's horses, she is offering her portrait services to you & your family. You can create your own packages & 5% of your order will go to buy Holiday presents for our horses. She can also make holiday cards to be mailed out this season. Please let Megan know if you are interested or contact Sarah directly at sarahbella143@hotmail.com. If your child attended camp this summer, Sarah also has portraits from camp she can have printed.

3- Just a reminder to all parents: we know the weather is getting colder and it's too cold to stand outside. we have blocked off the upper part of the indoor ring for parents to stand/sit in the alcove or behind the divider. Please be sure you are not interrupting the lesson and other children with you have something to do. We understand its always harder in the winter as lessons come inside & it becomes more crowded - there are more distracters with everyone watching. Any concerns please contact Megan.

4- There will be no lessons on the following dates in observance of the holidays. If you would like to reschedule your lesson, please contact your instructor:

November 27th- Thanksgiving Day (Thursday)
December 24th- Christmas Eve (Wednesday)
December 25th-Christmas Day (Thursday)
December 31st- New Years Eve (Wednesday)
January 1st- New Years Day (Thursday)

Thank you,

Ivy Hill Staff

Welcome Janet Whitehead

We would like to welcome & introduce Janet Whitehead to all of you. Janet recently joined Ivy Hill's Board of Director's. She is a Vice President and Asst. Director of HR for Univest Corporation of PA. She brings a wealth of Human Resource experience to Ivy Hill's board. She has worked in HR since 1990 and received her degree from Muhlenberg College. Janet is also involved with The North Penn United Way - she chairs Univest's Annual United Way Campaign and participates in a variety of other volunteer opportunities with the United Way.

Welcome Janet!!

Happy Halloween

Wishing everyone a safe & happy Halloween!!

Don't forget - Megan & Amanda do not have lessons tonight - lessons with resume as regularly scheduled, tomorrow morning.

Thank you!!

Thank You Golfers!!

Yesterday Blue Bell Country Club played host to our 3rd Annual Golf Outing. The day brought the area's first heavy frost and started out very cold, but soon warmed up to a balmy 60 degrees. Twenty four golfers enjoyed a round of golf and a great dinner. Through their support as well as the sponsors listed below, we were able to raise over $3,300.00 towards our program.

Thank you to everyone who played golf yestereday. The winning foursome was: Bruce Lander, Jack Robeiro, John Cyb, & Scott Landvatter - way to go!! A special thank you to the following organizations who supported this event through sponsorship levels, donations of items and donations:

Harleysville Group, Inc. - Corporate Sponsor

Atlantic Financial Group

The Continental Bank

Harleysville National Bank

Univest Corporation of PA

Collegeville Financial, LLC

Davis Feed Mills

Blue Bell Country Club

Penn Valley Gas

Indian Valley Appraisal Company

Rita's of Phoenixville

Rita's of Royersford

Our golf outing brings to a close the major fundraising events for 2008. However, we are already at work planning our 2009 Silent Auction & Dinner. Our 3rd Annual Silent Auction & Dinner will be held on March 14, 2009 at Indian Valley Country Club, Telford. You won't want to miss this event which will be our official "Kick Off celebration. What are we celebrating you ask? 10 years of service!! That's right in 2009 Ivy Hill turns 10 years old. Stay tuned for more information about our upcoming events and our year long celebration!

It's Tee Time

Ivy Hill cordially invites you to support our 3rd Annual Golf Outing at Blue Bell Country Club on October 20th. Registration is now open!! All proceeds benefit our program. Cost per golfer is $150.00 or $600 for a foursome.

We are also looking for sponsors at the following levels:

Grand Champion Sponsor: $2,000.00*SOLD OUT
This Presenting Sponsorship includes:
Hole Sponsorship
One (1) Foursome round of golf
Flyer in each gift bag
Website & newsletter listing
Post press release listing

Dinner Sponsor: $1,500.00*
Dinner Sponsorship includes:
Hole Sponsorship
Announcement as dinner sponsor in event program
Full page back cover ad in event program
Full page ad in event program
Post press release listing
Website & newsletter listing

Reserve Champion Sponsor: $1,000.00
Reserve Champion Sponsorship includes:
Full page ad in event program
Hole Sponsorship
Flyer in each gift bag
Post press release listing
Website & newsletter listing

Golf Cart Sponsorship: $750.00*
Golf Cart Sponsorship includes:
Sponsorship sign in each golf cart
Half Page ad in event program
Flyer in each gift bag
Post press release listing
Website & newsletter listing

Blue Ribbon Sponsor: $500.00
Blue Ribbon Sponsorship includes:
Full Page ad in event program
Flyer in each gift bag
Post press release, website & newsletter listings

Red Ribbon Sponsorship: $250.00
Red Ribbon Sponsorship includes:
Half page ad in event program
Flyer in each gift bag
Post press release, website & newsletter listings

(*Indicates only one may be purchased)

Ivy Hill is also looking for donations of golf related items to use as giveaways, prizes and bag stuffers for our golfers.

To support this event through sponsorship, registering as a golfer or foursome, or to donate an item, please contact Wendy Aughe at (215) 822-2515 ext. 3 or visit our website & see the special events tab.

Thank you for your support!

Volunteers Needed

Ivy Hill has ongoing need for the following volunteers in the following areas. Please note no experience is needed. We will train volunteers for lesson & barn help as needed. We greatly appreciate any help you can offer!!

Fundraising Committee Members:
Ivy Hill is working to form a fundraising committee and is looking for volunteers to serve as committee members. We hold two major fundraising events each year - our golf outing (fall) & a silent auction (winter). Meetings to help coordinate these two events will be more frequent during those times. There will be meetings throughout the year but not as frequently as during the planning stages of these two major events. Committee members will help plan, organize and help with getting donations for these events. If you are interested in becoming a fundraising committee member, please contact Wendy Aughe at (215) 822-2515 ext. 3. No experience in fundraising is needed - just a willingness to help us put together successful events.

Lesson Help:
Volunteer Coordinator, Amanda Repoley is looking for volunteers to help with both day and evening lessons. No experience is needed and training is provided to all new volunteers. If interested, please contact Amanda at (215) 822-2515 ext. 4.

Barn Help:
Help with barn work is needed on weekdays after 3:30 p.m. This includes turning horses in/out, feeding and cleaning stalls. Again, no experience is needed and training is provided to all new volunteers. If interested, please contact Amanda at (215) 822-2515 ext. 4.

First Savings Bank of Perkasie Supports Ivy Hill

We would like to extend a sincere thank you to First Savings Bank of Perkasie for their recent donation of $250.00. The donation was made through their First Savings Community Foundation and will be used to help purchase a four horse trailer for our program. With the purchase of a trailer our clients will be able to participate in more off-site competitions throughout the year, we will be able to trailer horses in need of emergency veterinary care, and we will expand our community outreach programs by collaborating with other local health & human service organizations to provide programs at their locations.

We thank First Savings Bank of Perkasie for their continued support of our program. If you would like to help us purchase the trailer, please contact Wendy Aughe at (215) 822-2515 ext. 3 or by email at waughe@ivyhillequestrian.org.

Welcome Fall

With the arrival of Labor Day Weekend, we at Ivy Hill begin to get ready for fall!

If you have requested a change in your riding schedule, don't forget the new fall schedule begins on Tuesday!

Our Fall show is fast approaching!! This year we are trying something new & having the show as a two-day show!! This will be easier on our horses as well as our staff and volunteers. We hope this change will be lots of fun for everyone involved. Please see Megan if you can bake something for the bake sale, can volunteer either day or want to show. Classes are $2 each to help cover the cost of ribbons and judging.

Have you been to the barn lately? See anyone new? Wondered who that adorable new pony is & if she is ours? Well to answer your questions - her name is Pebbles & she is now part of our program. She is a dapple grey welsh pony & she is absolutely adorable!! In case you haven't gotten a chance to meet her yet, here is a picture of her. She loves attention but is still adjusting to life in a barn.

Finally, Thorncroft's Fall Show will be Oct. 26th. Please refer to the email Megan sent to all rider's for complete details.

Have a safe and Happy Labor Day Weekend!

Ivy Hill Purchases a Tractor!

Thanks for an anonymous donation and a grant from the American Realty Trust, Ivy Hill purchased a used Massey Ferguson tractor. The tractor will be used to plow the fields, drag both the indoor & outdoor rings and a variety of other chores.

Did you know we now have over 75 therapeutic students participating in our program on a weekly or bi-weekly basis? We have grown by leaps & bounds over the past two years. We also have been able to add horses to our program and are now up to nine horses total!! We could not have done this without the genorosity of those individuals and organizations who continue to support our program. Thank you to all of you who support our program.

Ivy Hill Fundraising

Ivy Hill is participating in two fundraising opportunities right now - selling Wawa Shorti Hoagie Certificates and selling Macy's Shop for a Cause Shopping Passes. Details for each fundraiser are listed below.

Wawa Hoagie Certificates
On sale now for $3.00 a piece. Entitles holder to one shorti hoagie of their choice. Good at any Wawa location. Money raised from Wawa will go towards 2009 summer camp for crafts and activities during camp. Don't forget hoagie certificates make great gifts for students heading back to college this fall!! To purchase tickets, please see Megan or Wendy or call (215) 822-2515 ext. 1.

Macy's Shop for a Cause Day
Ivy Hill is once again selling Macy's Shop for a Cause Passes for $5.00 each. Ivy Hill receives all money from these sales!! Money has been designated for horse care and supplies. With fall and winter fast approaching, we will need to purchase a few blankets for some of our newer horses. A few horses are also on supplements each day & this funding will help to pay for that as well. Macy's Shop for a Cause Day is September 20th. The shopping pass gives the holder exclusive discounts on regular, sale & clearance priced items throughout the store. There will be fun activities and drawings throughout the day as well. Passes are valid at all Macy's locations. To purchase tickets, please see Megan or Wendy or call (215) 822-2515 ext. 1.

Thank you for supporting Ivy Hill in all we do!!

Volunteers & Additional Instructor Needed

As the staff at Ivy Hill gets ready for fall, we are looking to fill the following volunteer openings:

Monday through Friday - 3:30 - 7:00 p.m. (lesson & barn help)
Tuesday, Wednesday & Friday - various daytime hours to help with student lessons.

These positions are for help with student lessons as well as some barn work. No experience is necessary - we offer training sessions to all volunteers.

For more information, please contact Amanda at (215) 822-2515 ext. 4 or email at info@ivyhillequestrian.org
**************************************************************************************
Ivy Hill has an immediate opening for an instructor for Wednesday night lessons. A NARHA registered level instructor is preferred but not required. Experience in therapeutic riding a plus, however, we are willing to work with the right candidate. Applicant must be 18 years or older. Additional nights and/or days possible. If interested, please contact Megan Strychowski, Program Manager, at (215) 822-2515 ext. 1 or mstrychowski@ivyhillequestrian.org

July 4th Weekend

Just a reminder: Ivy Hill will be closed for lessons on Friday, Saturday & Sunday of this week. Lessons will resume their regular schedule on Monday, July 6th.

Ivy Hill staff wishes everyone a safe and happy July 4th weekend!

Special Olympics State Games

Congraulations to the eleven Ivy Hill riders who competed at Special Olympic State Competition (also known as Summer Games), State College, PA over the weekend. Classes included trail, dressage, equitation, unified pairs & showmanship. It was a long & hot weekend in Happy Valley but riders, volunteers & horses persevered to bring home lots of ribbons & most importantly a lot of memories.



Every trip to Happy Valley usually includes a trip to The Creamery after closing ceremonies on Saturday evening! This year was no exception & riders, parents & the volunteers enjoyed a cool treat after a very long day of competition.

Congratulations Sarah!!

Sarah Smith successfully completed the NARHA registered level instructor certification!! Sarah has been instructing at Ivy Hill since last summer and has been working on her NARHA certification for about 6 months. NARHA's course requires various training, teaching hours, and a weekend certification process which includes a riding test, classroom learning and teaching therapeutic sessions during the weekend. Congratulations Sarah!!!

The Devon Horse Show

If you grew up in this area, you probably know Memorial Day Weekend not only signifies the kick-off of summer, but it's time for The Devon Horse Show & Country Fair. A tradition since 1896, the show brings together amateurs and professional riders for eleven days of competition, exhibitions, carnival rides, great food and lots of horses!!

This weekend, like many Memorial Day weekends, 12 Ivy Hill students and four horses participated in the Handicapped Rider's Event of the Devon Horse Show. Hosted by Thorncroft Equestrian Center in Malvern, it has been part of Devon for the past 29 years. Horses and students alike compete in different classes including dressage, trail, equitation, jumping, etc. The weather was perfect and everyone had a great time. Depending on class sizes, ribbons ranged from 1-8th place. Ivy Hill brought home the following ribbons:

1st Place - 7

2nd Place - 4

3rd Place - 7

4th Place - 6
5th Place - 5

6th Place - 2

7th Place - 2

8th Place - 1

Congratulations to Daniel Mainieri, pictured above, for earning Reserve Champion at the Show! He did a great job with each class he competed in!!

Even the horses get in on the action and can be nominated to win the prestigious Francis P. Hayes Trophy for Champion Therapeutic Horse of the Year. And guess what??? Bean won!! This is the second year in a row an Ivy Hill horse has received this honor. Last year Blue won and this year it was Bean's turn. So it was off to The Dixon Oval at the Devon Fairgrounds on Sunday for his presentation. He received a cooler with "Therapeutic Horse of the Year HRE 2008" embroidered on it's side.

Thank you to Megan, Janna, Jess, Jordan, Julia, and everyone else who helped to make this day a great success! It takes a tremendous amount of work and time to participate in an off-site horse show. We couldn't have done it without all of your hard work!! Thank you!!

Tractor Needed - Can You Help?

Late last summer, Ivy Hill received $2,500 from The American Realty Trust to be used towards the purchase of a tractor to help maintain our property. We are currently raising funds for our goal of $8,500 to purchase the needed tractor. All donations are tax deductible and will be acknowledged with a letter and a listing on our website. Thank you in advance for your continued support of our program!

Welcome to Ivy Hill's Blog!

Ivy Hill has many exciting things going on these days & we don't want anyone to miss anything!!

We have three great bits of news to share with everyone this week.

First, Megan Strychowski, our Program Manager, was recognized by The Autism Support Network for her "excellence in the community and continuing work with children with Autism". To her surprise, she was presented with a plaque on April 26th at The Autism Support Network's annual dinner. Anyone who knows Megan knows how committed she is to our program and the people we serve. Away from Ivy Hill, Megan has a degree in Special Education as well as Elementary Education from Kutztown University. She has been involved in therapeutic riding since she was 8 years old. Congratulations Megan!!
Our second bit of news is the return of Reed Technologies to our farm on Friday May 9th. A group of 12 people from Reed Technology and Information Services Inc. in Horsham, braved the weather to help us:

• fix fencing,



• wash the indoor ring,



• clean our office,



• caulk & clean the observation window,



• clean all the lights in barn,



• wash the fronts of all the stalls,



• and hang shelves in the feed room.

This is Reed's third time at our facility helping to make it a better place! Thank you Reed Technologies!!!!

Lastly, we would like to welcome & introduce two of our newest horse's to our program - April Fire, known as "April" & Mislynn Fancy Bar, known as "Fancy". They both came to us last week from a private owner in Sellersville. We will be transitioning them into our program and we will share pictures of them soon!