Since I started this blog and began putting together the very basic ground work for making Jake's Place a reality, I have been having a tough time figuring out how I was going to do all of this by myself. I knew that I needed some help, but it had to be someone that I could really trust, would be motivated and caring, would have some experience raising funds, and I had to be able to afford them. What a task!
I was starting to feel a little down in all honesty, because I realize that trying to do this all by myself means that it will be a long time coming to fruition - there is only so much time I can put it on my own, and fund raising takes a LOT of time - but I honestly believe that the Lord is guiding me, so I knew it would all work out when the time was right. That time came faster than I had expected when last weekend I had a long conversation with Randy's birth mom, Carolyn, and she offered to come on board to assist me in making Jake's Place a reality.
Carolyn has been serving the Lord for over 20 years now, working in ministry and helping troubled kids. Over the past few years she has had a series of devastating blows, including trying to work from home while taking care of her seriously ill mother, so this opportunity was a God send for both of us; I get the help I need and she gets to work from home! We are currently in the process of trying to get a solid plan together and get the fund raising ball rolling, and hope to start making progress very soon.
Welcome aboard Mom!!
Wednesday, October 3, 2007
Sunday, September 30, 2007
Raising Funds the Hard Way - wow $165K is a lot of money!
Yes, yes it is. But starting and running a first class therapy center takes a lot money. Horses take a lot of money. Feeding horses and vet care for horses and foot care for horses all takes money. Then they need blankets and barns and bedding and shoes and quality feed and sometimes special diets - and we haven't even gotten to arenas and trails and lounges yet!
My dad asked me the other day how I came up with the $165,000 figure, and I think my supporters/donors would like to know the answer to that question as well, so here is a general breakdown.
$22,000 - Training. I need to go through an accredited EFEL course to become a facilitator, and I also need to complete NARHA certification.
$75,000 - Down Payment on Farm. In our area, the type of farm we will need would cost about $750,000 ready to go. We can do renovations and repairs and updating ourselves, which means we can buy a "fixer" farm for about $500,000. We will need to put 20% or $100,000 down. We have about $25,000 in equity in our current home, which means we need to raise another $75K for our down payment.
$30,000 - Barn, Arena and Lounge Improvements. Since we will be buying a "fixer" farm, we will of course need to fix the horse part of the place up before we can start accepting clients. Fixing includes making sure stalls are safe, arena footing is safe, fencing is secure and safe, and that our lounge for parents is completed.
$24,000 - Six Months worth of Operating Expenses. We will need some time to get the improvements done and our client list built up before we can expect the center to start bringing in any type of income. Covering six months worth of expenses will give us time to get that accomplished.
$14,000 - Advertising, Legal and Office Expenses. We will need to do a big advertising push to the get the word out that the center is open, and to show the world what we have to offer. Before the first client arrives, we will need insurance and contracts and release forms. We will need computers and forms and office supplies to keep everything running smoothly.
There are quite a few things that aren't listed, like HORSES! and tack and equipment and a truck and a trailer and 1,000 other things. I hope to be able to contribute most of those items on my own, and I do currently have several people who have offered donations of horses and tack (THANK YOU!!). So that is a general breakdown of what we need funds for. It is a monumental task trying to raise that amount of money with no advertising budget and basically just sending out emails and posting on the web. But I have faith that the funds will come through, and that through the grace of the Lord, we will get to exactly where we need to be!
My dad asked me the other day how I came up with the $165,000 figure, and I think my supporters/donors would like to know the answer to that question as well, so here is a general breakdown.
$22,000 - Training. I need to go through an accredited EFEL course to become a facilitator, and I also need to complete NARHA certification.
$75,000 - Down Payment on Farm. In our area, the type of farm we will need would cost about $750,000 ready to go. We can do renovations and repairs and updating ourselves, which means we can buy a "fixer" farm for about $500,000. We will need to put 20% or $100,000 down. We have about $25,000 in equity in our current home, which means we need to raise another $75K for our down payment.
$30,000 - Barn, Arena and Lounge Improvements. Since we will be buying a "fixer" farm, we will of course need to fix the horse part of the place up before we can start accepting clients. Fixing includes making sure stalls are safe, arena footing is safe, fencing is secure and safe, and that our lounge for parents is completed.
$24,000 - Six Months worth of Operating Expenses. We will need some time to get the improvements done and our client list built up before we can expect the center to start bringing in any type of income. Covering six months worth of expenses will give us time to get that accomplished.
$14,000 - Advertising, Legal and Office Expenses. We will need to do a big advertising push to the get the word out that the center is open, and to show the world what we have to offer. Before the first client arrives, we will need insurance and contracts and release forms. We will need computers and forms and office supplies to keep everything running smoothly.
There are quite a few things that aren't listed, like HORSES! and tack and equipment and a truck and a trailer and 1,000 other things. I hope to be able to contribute most of those items on my own, and I do currently have several people who have offered donations of horses and tack (THANK YOU!!). So that is a general breakdown of what we need funds for. It is a monumental task trying to raise that amount of money with no advertising budget and basically just sending out emails and posting on the web. But I have faith that the funds will come through, and that through the grace of the Lord, we will get to exactly where we need to be!
Wednesday, September 26, 2007
Jenny, Jenny, Jenny...
Oh Jenny McCarthy, I know you mean well. I know your heart is in the right place....but.
And it's a big but. I would hazard to guess that 95% of US parents, when told their child has Autism, heads straight for Google. I know we did - we researched and read and researched and read until we couldn't read any more. We wore out keyboards, I kid you not. We wanted to know, WHAT, HOW, WHO caused our beautiful little boy to have this terrible affliction.
We heard lots of theories about Autism, but the two that seemed to keep coming up over and over were that Autism is caused by Thimerosal, a mercury (50%) based compound that was once used as a stabilizer in vaccines (and many other products), and/or was caused by or exasperated by Gluten.
I've always lived my life by the "everything happens for a reason" perspective, so it was during all of this researching and reading that I finally understood something about myself that I hadn't been able to figure out - why I had spent 4.5 years in college studying Molecular Biology and another 3 years working in research before I finally called it quits and went into business for myself. I mean I enjoyed research, and I did some good work while I was still in that life, but the fact was it was not my passion, and I had always known that. I could never really figure out what drove me to learn it - it's not exactly the easiest subject to learn - but when I found myself submersed in research abstracts and science periodicals studying Thimerosal and the effect of Gluten on the human body, I had one of those AHA moments! This was something I knew something about, and I was really anxious to discover how so many parents had come to the conclusion that vaccines were the culprit. Bring on the science!
Well, I hate to tell you this Jenny (and all the other band wagoners) but as of today, there is absolutely no factual scientific evidence to support that vaccines in any way contribute to Autism. And here's another one especially for you Jenny: your son is around the same age as mine. Jake was born in 2001 and had the "suspect" vaccines in 2002. But you you know what? They had already started to discontinued the use of the mercury compound Thimerosal in 1997 as part of the FDA Modernization act of 1997. Most vaccinations today do not contain Thimerosal at all, and the ones that do have such ridiculously low amounts (micro grams and lower) that my fillings would be doing more damage then these vaccines. (They've pretty much phased out mercury in fillings as well, but I've still got some real old ones in there!)
As for Gluten, there are some correlations showing that some autistic children when put on a gluten free diet show some signs of improvement, NOT CURE, but improvement - but as we all know, correlation does not equal causation. My son has gone through some amazing changes over the past five years, and during that time he's also started wearing under pants. AHA! Under pants cure Autism! Well...not so much.
I, as well as anyone, understand the intense desire to find out what causes our children's ailments, and I personally have been caught up in that all consuming desire to find someone, ANYONE to "blame" for Jake's Autism. But the fact is that while it may bring a sense of relief to point a finger and say AHA! Thimerosal! and AHA! Gluten!, the really hard truth is - and I'm sorry, because I know it's painful to hear - but the fact of the matter is that all of those claims are based pretty much solely on junk science and personal anecdotes.
I am thrilled for Jenny MacCarthy that her son showed great improvement after a change in his diet. Unfortunately for my son - and thousands of other kids with Autism - becoming gluten free had absolutely no effect what so ever, and the process the family and the child has to go through to become gluten free is painful and arduous. (Although I can imagine it would have been much easier for us if we had an in-house dietitian and gourmet cook on staff!)
Jake, for example, is very food taste/texture intolerant. He cannot eat a vegetable or most fruits. He will gag as soon as they go in his mouth and he will then immediatly throw up. His main diet staples are corn dogs, toast, peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, and plain cheese burgers, with the occasional grilled cheese or quessadila thrown in (oh, and he loves brownies). He is so sensitive to taste, that if you give him a different brand of corn dog, he cannot eat it. (And yes, we're sure he's not just seeing that the box is different. I was a research scientist, I know how to do a blind test) So as you can see, just about every thing that he eats has gluten in it, and making the change to gluten free products (they really do have gluten free corn dogs! And waffles!) was more than a little painful.
So to Jenny MacCarthy - thank you so much for doing your part to bring Autism back into the minds of the general public, you've just made it a lot easier for researchers to raise funds - but I wish you would have done a little more research before you labeled a "cause" to this disorder.
And to all of my wonderful, loving, caring friends and family who I couldn't do any of this without - you can stop sending me links to Jenny's interviews and articles and book now. I've done my homework, and I have a little different reading list. :-)
And it's a big but. I would hazard to guess that 95% of US parents, when told their child has Autism, heads straight for Google. I know we did - we researched and read and researched and read until we couldn't read any more. We wore out keyboards, I kid you not. We wanted to know, WHAT, HOW, WHO caused our beautiful little boy to have this terrible affliction.
We heard lots of theories about Autism, but the two that seemed to keep coming up over and over were that Autism is caused by Thimerosal, a mercury (50%) based compound that was once used as a stabilizer in vaccines (and many other products), and/or was caused by or exasperated by Gluten.
I've always lived my life by the "everything happens for a reason" perspective, so it was during all of this researching and reading that I finally understood something about myself that I hadn't been able to figure out - why I had spent 4.5 years in college studying Molecular Biology and another 3 years working in research before I finally called it quits and went into business for myself. I mean I enjoyed research, and I did some good work while I was still in that life, but the fact was it was not my passion, and I had always known that. I could never really figure out what drove me to learn it - it's not exactly the easiest subject to learn - but when I found myself submersed in research abstracts and science periodicals studying Thimerosal and the effect of Gluten on the human body, I had one of those AHA moments! This was something I knew something about, and I was really anxious to discover how so many parents had come to the conclusion that vaccines were the culprit. Bring on the science!
Well, I hate to tell you this Jenny (and all the other band wagoners) but as of today, there is absolutely no factual scientific evidence to support that vaccines in any way contribute to Autism. And here's another one especially for you Jenny: your son is around the same age as mine. Jake was born in 2001 and had the "suspect" vaccines in 2002. But you you know what? They had already started to discontinued the use of the mercury compound Thimerosal in 1997 as part of the FDA Modernization act of 1997. Most vaccinations today do not contain Thimerosal at all, and the ones that do have such ridiculously low amounts (micro grams and lower) that my fillings would be doing more damage then these vaccines. (They've pretty much phased out mercury in fillings as well, but I've still got some real old ones in there!)
As for Gluten, there are some correlations showing that some autistic children when put on a gluten free diet show some signs of improvement, NOT CURE, but improvement - but as we all know, correlation does not equal causation. My son has gone through some amazing changes over the past five years, and during that time he's also started wearing under pants. AHA! Under pants cure Autism! Well...not so much.
I, as well as anyone, understand the intense desire to find out what causes our children's ailments, and I personally have been caught up in that all consuming desire to find someone, ANYONE to "blame" for Jake's Autism. But the fact is that while it may bring a sense of relief to point a finger and say AHA! Thimerosal! and AHA! Gluten!, the really hard truth is - and I'm sorry, because I know it's painful to hear - but the fact of the matter is that all of those claims are based pretty much solely on junk science and personal anecdotes.
I am thrilled for Jenny MacCarthy that her son showed great improvement after a change in his diet. Unfortunately for my son - and thousands of other kids with Autism - becoming gluten free had absolutely no effect what so ever, and the process the family and the child has to go through to become gluten free is painful and arduous. (Although I can imagine it would have been much easier for us if we had an in-house dietitian and gourmet cook on staff!)
Jake, for example, is very food taste/texture intolerant. He cannot eat a vegetable or most fruits. He will gag as soon as they go in his mouth and he will then immediatly throw up. His main diet staples are corn dogs, toast, peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, and plain cheese burgers, with the occasional grilled cheese or quessadila thrown in (oh, and he loves brownies). He is so sensitive to taste, that if you give him a different brand of corn dog, he cannot eat it. (And yes, we're sure he's not just seeing that the box is different. I was a research scientist, I know how to do a blind test) So as you can see, just about every thing that he eats has gluten in it, and making the change to gluten free products (they really do have gluten free corn dogs! And waffles!) was more than a little painful.
So to Jenny MacCarthy - thank you so much for doing your part to bring Autism back into the minds of the general public, you've just made it a lot easier for researchers to raise funds - but I wish you would have done a little more research before you labeled a "cause" to this disorder.
And to all of my wonderful, loving, caring friends and family who I couldn't do any of this without - you can stop sending me links to Jenny's interviews and articles and book now. I've done my homework, and I have a little different reading list. :-)
Monday, September 24, 2007
Calling all Internet Shoppers!
If you already shop online, you know what a safe, hassle free, and comfortable way it is to shop. Our mall offers lots of the same stores you probably already visit on line - stores like Target, Best Buy, and even Walmart. In fact, our mall features over 500 great stores, so you are sure to find just want you're looking for, and best of all, Jake's Place will receive a percentage from every purchase you make. It is a win-win situation, and all you have to do is show our mall from this link.
So please save our link Jake's Horse Place Internet Mall to your favorites, and pass it on to your family and friends. We appreciate YOU!
Saturday, September 22, 2007
Raising $165,000 - one dollar at a time!
Funding Update: As of today, we've raised $26! Don't laugh - each and every single dollar we raise counts towards our final goal, and we greatly appreciate all purchases and donations, no matter how large or how small.
I have approximately 550 days to raise $165,000, which means I need to raise approximately $300 a day. Right now we are no where near that goal, so my job over the next couple of days is to expand the store and continue to get the word out. If you know of anyone who you think would like to support our cause, please forward them a link to our blog. We are currently fundraising in two ways: Accepting cash donations ($20.00 to date!) and by earning a commission on items sold through our shop ($6.00 so far!). If you haven't visited our store, please do! We have some great items , including Jake's Place EFEL Tshirts, tote bags, coasters, stickers and buttons, and Jake's Place Autism Therapy teddy bears, buttons, magnets and more!
A big thank you and (((HUGZ))) to those of you who have already shown your support! You are helping me lay the foundation of Jake's Place, and I appreciate you more than you could possibly know!
Equine Facilitated Experiential Learning
When I talk about opening Jake's Place, one of the most common questions I get is "What the heck is Equine Facilitated Experiential Learning (EFEL)"? EFEL is, in its simplest form, is using horses as mirrors and facilitators to help us explore issues or areas of concern in our lives. The horses may help us achieve self awareness, solve problems, and uncover issues in our lives that are holding us back and keeping us from advancing on a physical, spiritual and/or emotional level. EFEL is not psychotherapy, and should not be used in place of psychiatric treatment, or to try and deal with psychotic/psychiatric disorders.
I first heard of EFEL when I read Linda Kohanov's book The Tao of Equus, and before I got through Linda's explanation, I knew exactly what she was talking about. One of the reasons I believe I have had such a deep connection to horses my entire life is because of their ability to help me heal from various traumatic events starting when I was very young. Women are often faces with things that men are less likely to encounter; physical abuse from partners, sexual abuse and molestation, and subordinate treatment from various sources including teachers, employers and partners. Long after we have dealt with these issues in a psychiatric setting, we are often still struggling to regain our personal power and heal our inner child. Horses are the perfect partners to aid in the final steps of our recovery processes.
My goal for the EFEL side of Jake's Place is to provide a safe, nurturing environment where women in the final stages of recovery (be it from abuse, addiction, low self esteem, etc) can explore and finalize their healing through the way of the horse. Our EFEL center will offer a safe, comfortable environment for exploration and healing.
I first heard of EFEL when I read Linda Kohanov's book The Tao of Equus, and before I got through Linda's explanation, I knew exactly what she was talking about. One of the reasons I believe I have had such a deep connection to horses my entire life is because of their ability to help me heal from various traumatic events starting when I was very young. Women are often faces with things that men are less likely to encounter; physical abuse from partners, sexual abuse and molestation, and subordinate treatment from various sources including teachers, employers and partners. Long after we have dealt with these issues in a psychiatric setting, we are often still struggling to regain our personal power and heal our inner child. Horses are the perfect partners to aid in the final steps of our recovery processes.My goal for the EFEL side of Jake's Place is to provide a safe, nurturing environment where women in the final stages of recovery (be it from abuse, addiction, low self esteem, etc) can explore and finalize their healing through the way of the horse. Our EFEL center will offer a safe, comfortable environment for exploration and healing.
Thursday, September 20, 2007
Who are the horses? Glad you asked!
We currently have two horses on the roster at Jake's Place, my 19 year old Arabian mare Provacative (Proletariat x SF Katia) and our little girl My Little Obsesshahn (Bey Intuishahn E x GW Barbidansk).
Pro has been with me for a little more than three years now. She's an interesting horse; generally grumpy and not real friendly, Pro is not the horse that you would look at first when you think "therapy horse." But she really becomes a different horse around kids (she is especially protective of the little ones) and when she has precious cargo on her back, she suddenly becomes as incredibly beautiful on the inside as she is on the outside. Since Arabians tend to live long lives, with any luck Pro will be with us for many, many years to come.
So far Obie is the exact oposite of Provacativ. Always friendly and seemingling full of joy, she openly loves people and is the first one up to the fence for a love and a scritch. It will be a long time before anyone is riding Obie, but in the meantime she can do a great job of standing around and looking cute, and eventually be a great horse for kids to learn to groom on.
Pro has been with me for a little more than three years now. She's an interesting horse; generally grumpy and not real friendly, Pro is not the horse that you would look at first when you think "therapy horse." But she really becomes a different horse around kids (she is especially protective of the little ones) and when she has precious cargo on her back, she suddenly becomes as incredibly beautiful on the inside as she is on the outside. Since Arabians tend to live long lives, with any luck Pro will be with us for many, many years to come. 
So far Obie is the exact oposite of Provacativ. Always friendly and seemingling full of joy, she openly loves people and is the first one up to the fence for a love and a scritch. It will be a long time before anyone is riding Obie, but in the meantime she can do a great job of standing around and looking cute, and eventually be a great horse for kids to learn to groom on.
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