Dear Friend,
We can alleviate suffering by uniting to support youth who had adverse childhood experiences to regain their innocence and faith in their future. At this age, they are defining their identity. We can spare them of a life of suffering.
- 75% of children with mental disorders do not have access to specialized treatment services, according to the Center for Addiction and Mental Health Toronto, camh.ca.
With the help of horses, our program focuses on developing emotional well-being, leadership and entrepreneurship skills. Here we also provide a place for contributing and belonging. Being around horses is a fun reason for youth to want to come. They learn through experience. They don't come to be “fixed” but rather to be understood and for them to understand themselves. Horses have a powerful, calming energy and provide a mirror for what one is feeling. Horses have been used successfully to help reduce PTSD symptoms for first responders and veterans and have been used with youth as well.
"Grooming a horse can reduce stress, lower blood pressure, and improve overall health." [Psychology Today, 2017]
"Being around horses can build confidence, communication skills, trust, social skills, impulse control, and also learn boundaries" [Fédération Equestre Internationale 2020].
I know first-hand how arduous the journey of healing can be. I endured physical, emotional and sexual abuse. I dedicated my life to healing my trauma and supporting others do the same through my coaching work. Most of my life I did't feel worthy of love and I suffered greately feeling misunderstood and alone. Youth need our support to start their lives right and not have to suffer.
The program’s first horse, Amore, is a calm and loving Gypsy Vanner. He is a former rescue and has natural talent for this work.
During the lasy year as more youth experienced the visits and positive feedback was received the proof of concept had been achieved; we are now ready to help more people. This is currently a social entrepreise program, free of charge to youth in need and we intend to build into a public charity in the coming years.
We are currently raising funds for:
- Youth Visits - we offer one visit, two visits, and a 4-month leadership program every two weeks for 90 minutes. Visits include intake before and debriefing after with the parent or legal guardian.
- Amore's Care - includes hay, supplements, farrier, vet, and barn help
- Facility Operation - grounds maintenance, and paddocks upkeep
- Program Advocate part-time position to liaise with the community and those in need of our program; maintain relationships with key stakeholders, sponsors and youth organizations, and coordinate activities.
Business can Sponsor this program and we'll help them achieve their marketing goals and visibility. Please contact Irina at 519-416-6149 to discuss.
Having the funds will create the capacity to allow more youth in the program and to organize ways to reach the youth in need and have them experience the transformation. Our goal is to support 200 youth to experience the horses by the end of 2025.
"I highly recommend the Child Innocence Equine Experiences. I brought my son for a visit, he described his experience with the horse Amore and Irina, as calming and interesting. He found the trip to the barn a good use of his time to experience something different, something that's outside his comfort zone. I am grateful for this opportunity to have spent some quality time with my son and shared an experience that we will both have for a long time. Amore has given me a strong sense of confidence with a positive outlook of 2025! The preparation call helped understand the expectations, and the debrief call to discuss the observations and recommendations were very useful as a parent. They made the whole experience complete.” - Amy
With your help, we can make this happen. Please donate now and help change lives. Click the "Donate Now!" button at the top of this page. With each $500 donation, a youth can complete one month in the program. This will help them recover their innocence and sense of worth and gain valuable life skills. Each $250 donation helps with a day of horse care and facility operation.
For more in-depth details, check the additional tabs on why this “Cause Is Important” and “How The Funds Impact.” If you are a business and want to sponsor the program get in touch with Irina for the sponsorship packages that also help your business increase visibility.
On June 8 2024 we cut the ribbon but most importantly helped 3 youths. One had social anxiety, so I took him by the hand to see Amore before everyone else as he felt he had to leave. His relative said it was the first time that evening that he looked her in the eyes.
Next, a high school boy who was very introverted and quiet, perhaps because of bullying at school. He was afraid to approach Amore. Once we worked with him he got a smile on his face. People who watched the transformation cheered for him.
The last boy much younger was nervous because of a previous experience feeding a horse that hurt his hand. I showed him how to give Amore a treat and after some hesitation he did it and a big smile appeared on his face.
With any size donation, you are giving youth hope for a better future; you are giving them a chance to heal and elevate their lives. We will share regular updates here so you can see the direct impact you are making in the lives of program participants. You are making a difference.
Thank you for your support!
With deep gratitude,
Irina Mihaela and Amore,
plus the team of supporters and sponsors who make this program possible
Highlights
See all activity69Cause Is Important
Why is this cause important?
Someone who was abused has an unseen disability. Often, they lack emotional support, making it difficult to heal and move forward with their lives positively. Further, when these individuals display harmful behaviours such as anger, they are generally not treated with kindness, and the trauma and suffering perpetuate in a never-ending cycle.
There are three types of Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs): abuse, neglect and household dysfunction. The score is from 1 to 10. Researchers found that the higher the number of ACEs adults reported from childhood, the worse their physical and mental health outcomes (e.g., heart disease, substance misuse, depression).
Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Credit: Robert Wood Johnson Foundation
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported that about 61% of adults had experienced at least one type of ACE, and nearly 1 in 6 said they had experienced four or more ACEs. “Children growing up with toxic stress may have difficulty forming healthy and stable relationships.” "Child abuse and neglect are common. At least 1 in 7 children have experienced child abuse or neglect in the past year [2021] in the United States. This is likely an underestimate because many cases are unreported."
According to Statistics Canada, "About three in ten Canadians have experienced childhood victimization
Results [...] found that about three in ten (27%) Canadians over age 15 have experienced childhood victimization, which includes at least one instance of physical or sexual abuse by an adult—such as a parent, other family member, friend, neighbour or other adult—before age 15."
In my strategic intervention and business coaching practice, I have met people in their 50s and 60s who were still suffering from the repercussions of adverse childhood experiences. Some underwent therapy, others did not, but all have lived a life of feeling not good enough, not deserving of kindness, batting a negative self-image, needing to people-please, and not knowing how to ask for their needs. This creates a life of frustration, heartache and suffering. Some of those people were high achievers, winning awards, but inside, they were in constant turmoil. I was one of them.
Helping youth is very important to spare them from a life of suffering. Through our program, we will help them see new possibilities, giving them hope and a safe place to belong, contribute and express themselves.
Please donate and help change lives. Click the "Make A Difference" button at the top of this page.
Your donation gives youth hope for a better future; you are giving them a chance to elevate their lives.
How The Funds Impact
How will the funds make a positive impact?
We are asking for support to offer the program to more youth and cover the operating costs. We are assembling a team of equine experts and support staff, getting two more horses, and organizing to reach the youth in need.
We are currently raising funds for:
- Youth Visits - we offer one visit, two visits, and a 4-month program every two weeks for 90 minutes. Visits include intake before and debriefing after with the parent or legal guardian.
- Amore's Care - includes hay, supplements, farrier, vet, and barn help
- Facility Operation - grounds maintenance, and paddocks upkeep
- Program Advocate part-time position to liaise with the community and those in need of our program; maintain relationships with key stakeholders, sponsors and youth organizations, and coordinate activities.
If you have a business and would like to Sponsor this program and gain visibility and access, please contact Irina at 519-416-6149.
Although we are not a registered charity, we will work toward this goal in the next couple of years. For now, Child Innocence Equine Experiences is run as a program under the umbrella of Entrepreneur Enlightenment Inc. We use all the funds to offer more visits to more people.
So far, Irina volunteers her time to this project without any compensation. Her personal financial investment well exceeds 250k.
We are very grateful to raise the necessary funds so we can confidently hire part-time help, manage volunteers and offer the program to more youth in need. Once we have the team in place we aim to generate some revenue by offering equine experiences to youth through registered charities.
With your help, we can inspire youth who had adverse childhood experiences to recover their innocence, self-worth and faith in their future early on so they start their life right. We will help them see new possibilities and give them hope and a safe place to belong, contribute and express themselves.
Please donate and help change lives. Click the "Donate Now!" button at the top of this page.
Donate $500 to help one youth complete one month in the program.
Donate $250 to help with the facility operation and horse care for one day.
With any size donation, you are helping youth heal and elevate their lives.
You are making a difference!
Thanks to our anual Sponsor Anthea Mumby and he company Dream Team Consulting
Anthea Mumby Insurance Broker Consultant, Crisis Management,
Strategic Relationship Connector, Vision Builder
dreamteamconsulting.ca
