Tax Advantages of Charitable Contributions 2013

Today is a great time to change a person’s life by making a gift to Hearts.

The IRA Charitable Rollover ends December 31, 2013.  If you are age 70 ½ or older, you can make a tax-free gift of up to $100,000 to Hearts via direct transfer from your IRA by December 31, 2013. If you don’t need your required mandatory IRA distribution, the charitable rollover is an excellent way to avoid taxes and make an immediate impact in the lives of people with special needs in Santa Barbara County.

Year-end is almost here which means the 2013 tax season is just around the corner. The changes resulting from the American Taxpayer Relief Act (ATRA) of 2012 includes a number of provisions that are favorable for philanthropy and charitable giving. Capital gains (long-term) taxes may be avoided through gifts of appreciated securities.

Thank you for your support of Hearts. Together, we can make a difference.Donate now to support Hearts. 

Hearts Joins Up With The Cancer Center

This year, Hearts teamed up with the Cancer Center of Santa Barbara to offer a six week riding program designed specifically for patients in recovery from Cancer.

The patients were given an opportunity to care for, lead, ride and bond with their assigned horses, with assistance as needed, in a safe and supportive environment.

The benefits of Therapeutic Riding for the cancer patients included:

· Respite from present home and hospital situation
· A renewed sense of hope
· An experience of life beyond treatment
· Improved physical strength
· Improved stamina
· Development of new friendships
· Learning about a new recreational activity
· Learning about a potential volunteer activity
· Encouragement from other cancer patients
· Something positive and new to talk about with family and friends
· A sense of personal empowerment

“I loved this so much! It is such a great program! It is a chance to feel good about skills learned and be able to connect with other cancer survivors. I am teary writing this”.

“If I can do this, I can do other things as well…”

“The program was extremely fun and gave me something to look forward to each week”.

“I’m grateful for having this opportunity. I will recommend it to anyone having the need or in a healing journey such as mine.”

We are now seeking funds to sponsor another class for cancer patients in January 2014. The scholarship fund for cancer patients has been named to honor one of the original class members who has since passed away. If you would like to contribute to the Catherine Swain Memorial Fund, click here.

Taking Care of Vets: A Hearts Testimonial

We're grateful to be able to share some of the stories about how Hearts has made a difference in people's lives:

"I have donated to the wounded warriors project for years and this year I chose to donate closer to home, as my daughter is a volunteer and rider in the hearts veteran program.  And I am so thankful we did; now my wife Ginger and I can see where the money goes and what Hearts is doing with it. I am glad to see that your group is taking care of the Vets as well as children in need. Ginger and I are so proud of our daughter, and can see how much her life is changing from her experiences at Heart's. We want to see our own "Wounded Warrior" keep benefiting from working and riding at Heart's and that's why we stopped donating to a federal veterans group like WWP and want to give to the place where our daughter benefits from our charitable donations."

Tim & Ginger McGraw, of Silverdale, WA.

Goodbye to Paula, Beloved Equine Therapist

Our sweet Norwegian Fjord mare, Paula, sadly passed away this month. A service was held recently at Hearts in her memory. You can download a coloring sheet below to help remember happy times with this special horse.

Meet An Exceptional Volunteer: Nancy Town

Nancy Town started volunteering in April of 2013.  While she did not have previous horse experience, she possessed a large appetite to learn as much as could about the horses.  This desire to acquire equine knowledge was largely from her warm, compassionate soul and her dedication to service.  It didn’t take her long to absorb all of the necessary skills to lead, groom, tack and tend to the horses.  Nancy has an innate intuition about all animals and she feels she was meant to have horses in her life.

Volunteer CJ describes Nancy as a hard act to follow: “if Nancy was moving, she was working.  Sometimes, when I was looking for her, I knew immediately where she was by the cloud of dust blowing from the corrals.  It was Nancy -- sweeping the boards inside the shade covers during breaks.  If she wasn’t cleaning stalls, you could find her scrubbing the water troughs, or raking the cross ties.  Whatever the task, she was always working hard”.

“Nancy is exceptionally compassionate towards ALL animals.  I remember one day, as we were walking towards the big arena and I had a rake in my hand.  Suddenly, a gopher popped out of his hole and I started to 'bonk' him on his head.  Nancy yelled, ‘Oh no, stop CJ, they're all God's creatures!’  Due to Nancy’s compassion, we have more gopher holes at Hearts than a piece of Swiss cheese”.

Sadly, Nancy has now moved to Bend, Oregon to be closer to her family, leaving a hole in all of our HEARTS.  Nancy embodied the enthusiasm, drive, and compassion we look for in volunteers.  She was an exceptional part of our organization and IS an exceptional woman.  We honor Nancy this month as our Volunteer of the Month and are sad to see her go.  We wish her the best of luck in her new adventure and are thrilled to know she will be volunteering in a Therapeutic Riding program in her new town.

Cheers, Nancy!

We will miss you.

Hearts Rider Schedule for 2014

Here is the Rider Schedule for 2014: Right-click on the image below to download

Hearts Welcomes Devon Sachey As Our New Program Director

I am delighted to announce the appointment of Devon Sachey as the new Program Director at Hearts. Devon will oversee all of our therapeutic horseback riding programs, including weekly lessons, summer and spring Horse Experience Camps, the Annual Student Horse Show, Horse Sponsor Trail Rides, and our new Mother’s Day and Father’s Day parent/child rides.

Devon is uniquely qualified to guide the continuing growth and development of the therapeutic riding programs at Hearts. She is particularly enthusiastic about working with “Horses for Heroes”, our specialty program to serve Veterans; many of whom suffer from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder as a result of their military service.

Devon was born and raised in Santa Barbara, where her family owned and operated Raintree Ranch Equestrian Center. Devon grew up competing Eventing horses, instructing riding lessons and summer camps, and participating in the local Tecelote Pony Club. Shortly after high school, she served in the United States Marine Corps for 5 years, where she was commended for her superior performance as a Sergeant and flight mechanic on the KC-130 Aircraft. After earning a Bachelors Degree in Business Management and Marketing from Northwood University, Devon served as Interim Director and Riding Instructor at the YMCA Camp Carter Equestrian Center in Fort Worth, Texas and later as Operations & Marketing Director of Bardsley Products, Inc. in Santa Barbara.

Devon volunteered in the lesson program for a year before being selected to serve as the Program Director. Please join me in welcoming Devon to her new position. She has a great passion for horses and the people whose lives they touch. We are fortunate to have her on our staff.

Kirby Gillispie

Executive Director