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About the author: Katie Blankenberg lives in Portola Valley and is a freshman at Sacred Heart Prep in Atherton.
By Katie Blankenberg
Even though I have lived in Menlo Park and Portola Valley my whole life, I still come across great charitable organizations that are just under the radar for many people.
Recently, my editor asked me to write a story about the truly amazing work of a Woodside nonprofit called the Nation Center for Equine Facilitated Therapy (NCEFT).
This organization employs creative “therapy on horseback” techniques — using the movement of horses to provide physical and occupational therapy, for example — to help people of all ages with disabilities that impair their movement or social skills.
The NCEFT is involved in a creative partnership with a Palo Alto nonprofit called AchieveKids, which helps provide, among other things, vocational skills for youth with emotional or developmental disabilities.
More on that later. First, let me tell you more about the NCEFT.
The center has been around for 37 years. Two years ago it moved to a 12-acre property at 880 Runnymede Road in Woodside.
When I first arrived at NCEFT, I was astonished by the gorgeous, serene property. In this spacious arena, very well trained horses are used to help people of all ages with their mobility and their social skills. In most cases, patients are referred by their physical therapy physicians, though some come by word of mouth, says Gari Merendino, executive director since 2007.
One strategy used to help patients with impaired movement is a treatment called hippotherapy. In hippotherapy, a person rides on a horse and adjusts his or her body position to match the gait of the horse, as if the rider were walking. Not only can this improve strength, posture and mobility, but it can help with speech disorders that occur with many mental and sometimes physical diseases, Mr. Merendino says.
Hippotherapy promotes speaking skills by having the patient command a horse and learn the effects of his or her words, such as “stop” or “go.”
Besides hippotherapy, there is an Interactive Vaulting Program, a sport activity in a group setting with horses, for people with special needs who do not have enough core strength or posture for normal mobility; a Therapeutic Riding Program that helps patients build more self-esteem by creating a bond with a horse; and the Veterans Program, which offers rehabilitation services to those in the armed services and to veterans.
Since the NCEFT is a nonprofit organization, it has to raise money to keep operating and provide financial assistance to patients who can’t afford the programs. There are a number of great fundraisers coming up.
On July 11, the NCEFT Annual Ride-A-Thon Poker Ride will be held. It is similar to the walks for breast cancer and other causes, except it involves people riding or walking with their horses through Huddart County Park in Woodside. Other fundraisers, such as the NCEFT Gala Event and concerts, will be held later in the year.
AchieveKids
The partnership with AchieveKids serves the missions of both organizations. Kids from AchieveKids go to the NCEFT to do any work that needs to be done. Currently, these kids are helping with the fundraiser called Path of Dreams, which involves people buying a brick and having a message or name inscribed on it.
The bricks will be installed in front of the NCEFT arena. So far, the organization has raised about $9,000. Instead of paying to get them inscribed, NCEFT is working with an AchieveKids job coach, who is a brick mason and will do the inscriptions for them.
Also, the brick mason will teach the youth from AchieveKids how to install the bricks in front of the arena.
“Given the tough economic times, you have two nonprofit organizations working together to support one another, while accomplishing their core missions, controlling cost and making certain the money donated to both organizations is used effectively,” says Mr. Merendino. “With our youth the beneficiaries.”
NCEFT is supported by many generous volunteers and, of course, the 13 trained horses that stay at the center.
INFORMATION: The National Center for Equine Facilitated Therapy is located at 880 Runnymede Road in Woodside. To contact the NCEFT, call (650) 851-2271, go online to www.nceft.org or send an e-mail to: info@nceft.org. For information on AchiveKids, go to www.AchieveKids.org.
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Zachary Goren, 3, is attended by volunteer Cristina Davis, left, and instructor Beth Evans, right, at the National Center for Equine Facilitated Therapy in Woodside on March 11. Michelle Le/The Almanac. -
AchieveKids coach Daniel Martinez, 33, left, teaches student Steven Shepard, 19, how to install brick at the National Center for Equine Facilitated Therapy in Woodside. Photo by Michelle Le/The Almanac.
