Who We Are
Shining Hope Farms was founded in 2002 by Paul and Milinda Kirkpatrick in response to the needs in the community to provide therapeutic services in an enriching farm environment. The purpose of the farms’ services is to improve the quality of life of the participants as well as their families. Shining Hope Farms’ programs have been structured to serve individuals and groups with a variety of disabilities such as Cerebral Palsy, Autism, Down’s Syndrome, Developmental Disabilities, Brain Injuries, Hypotomia, and the like. Our clients find wellness, strength, and hope on the back of a horse.
How We Serve
Therapy Services
We offer equine assisted therapies including physical and occupational therapy, speech-language pathology, and mental health counseling.
Therapeutic Riding
An equine-assisted activity for the purpose of contributing positively to the cognitive, physical, emotional, and social well-being of individuals with special needs.
Veterans Services
Saddles and Salutes is a program at Shining Hope Farms that serves Veterans as a part of their community support system for Veteran wellness.
Our Mission
Shining Hope Farms is a nonprofit organization whose mission is to enable children and adults to reach their full potential through the use of equine assisted activities and therapies.
Our Impact
Through the impact of our volunteers and donors, Shining Hope Farms has been successfully able to make our rehabilitative and recreational programs accessible to the poor and needy in our community by making the programs free-of-charge to the majority of participants.
Participants per week across our three locations
Number of volunteers that helped our program in 2020
Hours donated by our volunteers in 2020
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News & Events
Shining Hope Farms Receives Grant Award from Disabled Veterans National Foundation
Shining Hope Farms is honored to announce it has received a grant from the Disabled Veterans National Foundation (DVNF) for $10,000, which will fund its Saddles and Salutes program that serves Veterans in the Western Piedmont region of North Carolina through equine assisted activities and therapies (EAAT).
SHF Awarded Funds from NMWC as Gold Grantee
On Tuesday, May 3rd, Shining Hope Farms was awarded funds from the North Mecklenburg Women's Club (NMWC) as their Gold grantee at their 2022 All-Star Celebration and Evening of Gratitude. We were so honored to be selected as their Gold grantee in 2021 and now we can't...
Noah’s Story
Noah was born at 25 weeks and weighed 1 lb. 15 oz. Shortly after birth Noah had a stroke. He was diagnosed with prematurity, developmental delay, and significant gastro intestinal complications as an infant, resulting in the need for a feeding tube. Not long after his second birthday, Noah began receiving Occupational Therapy services at Shining Hope Farms, which utilized Hippotherapy (from the Greek “hippo” meaning “horse”) as a treatment strategy.
Noah is now five years old and has been receiving Occupational Therapy for 3 years. During that time Noah has improved his core strength, balance and normalized his tone allowing him to stand and take 10 – 20 steps with one hand assistance. These improvements have also enabled him to maintain his position on his horse. The horse that Noah rides for his treatment sessions is Captain Hook, or Cappy for short.
Noah’s mom says, “Coming to Shining Hope Farms to ride Cappy and to visit the wonderful staff is the highlight of Noah’s week. Noah was barely able to sit up on his own when he first came to the farm for Hippotherapy. Today because of Hippotherapy, his muscles are significantly stronger and he is cruising and learning to walk on his own. Peace surrounds our family as soon as we enter the farm. We are so grateful to have such a remarkable place for Noah to come to. He tells everyone he meets about the farm and Cappy. Noah would not be where is or who he is today without the people and horses of Shining Hope Farms.”