| News Release: For Immediate Release |
SPEEDWAY CHILDREN’S CHARITIES SUPPORTS SHINING HOPE FARMS FOR 11TH YEAR
MOUNT HOLLY & CONCORD, NC (January 4, 2023) – It was announced last month that one of the Speedway Children’s Charities grantees receiving a portion of the $785,400 granted would be Mt. Holly based nonprofit Shining Hope Farms—a nonprofit that provides equine assisted activities and therapies across their three locations in the western Piedmont region of North Carolina. Shining Hope Farms was one of 43 local nonprofits who received a grant from the charity in December.
Speedway Children’s Charities has been a regular supporter of Shining Hope Farms, providing them with 11 grants over the past decade plus. The grant will provide funds for the their Therapy Services Program, where occupational therapy, physical therapy and speech-language pathology professionals use the equine for a treatment strategy called Hippotherapy. This treatment strategy engages sensory, neuromotor, and cognitive systems to achieve functional outcomes. It is the only one of its kind in the Charlotte Metro area.
“We at Shining Hope Farms feel so fortunate and blessed to be a recipient of a Speedway Children’s Charities grant. These greatly needed funds help support children in our community to make critical functional gains. These life-changing physical and cognitive advances help to improve their quality of life, as well as their family’s,” said Executive Director Milinda Kirkpatrick.
The grant generously awarded by Speedway Children’s Charities will help Shining Hope Farms to serve many children a week no matter what the family’s financial means are.
Milinda added, “Our goal at Shining Hope Farms is to provide equitable access to our services including our therapy program. This means making sure that everyone can afford to access our programs no matter what their income bracket is. It’s rare to find this with an equine assisted activities and therapies program like ours and it’s because of the generous support from Speedway Children’s Charities that this is possible.”
Speedway Children’s Charities (SCC) works hard to fundraise all year in order to provide critical grants to so many charities. Fundraising efforts include an annual black-tie gala and golf tournament to 50/50 raffles, and charity track rides among other activities.
Shining Hope Farms celebrated the grant award at a special ceremony in December at Speedway Christmas. SCC generously provided an evening of cookies and hot chocolate and a tour through their well-known 4 million plus Christmas lights display.
The Charlotte chapter of SCC is one of 11 located at Speedway Motorsports racing facilities across the country. Since inception in 1982, SCC has awarded in excess of $65 million to nonprofit organizations throughout the nation.
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About Shining Hope Farms
Shining Hope Farms is a 501(c)(3) organization whose mission is to enable children and adults to reach their full potential through the use of equine assisted activities and therapies. Programs provided include physical, occupational, and speech therapy utilizing equine movement as a treatment strategy called hippotherapy. Shining Hope Farms is the only facility offering this treatment strategy in the counties that they operate in. Equine assisted mental health counseling is also offered along with therapeutic riding for children and adults including Veterans. They are a Premier Accredited Center of PATH Intl. (Professional Association of Therapeutic Horsemanship, International) as well as a member of the American Hippotherapy Association. Locations include sites in Charlotte, Mt. Holly, and Conover, NC. Between the three locations there are 30+ horses and 50 staff members consisting of occupational and physical therapists, speech and language pathologists, PATH Intl. certified riding instructors, and administrative staff, plus many wonderful volunteers. Shining Hope Farms is also a GuideStar Exchange Gold participant, a leading symbol of transparency and accountability among nonprofits. For more information, please visit the website at shininghopefarms.org or call 704-827-3788.
Media Contact:
Patrice Gibson, Development Director, (813) 597-9178, patricegibson@shininghopefarms.org
