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Save The Date For Zuma’s Mane Event
Zuma’s Mane Event
July 31st 2010
Save the Date…..
Details available on http://www.BlackTie.com In May
- Horse Drawn Carriage Rides Around The Gorgeous 146 -Acre Horse Ranch
- Live Auction with Spectacular Auction Items
- Superb Artist Collections
- Delectable Dinner prepared by Epicurean Caterers
- Small Horse Show put on by Zuma’s Experiential Learning Center Kids
- Live Music, and Dancing…..
All Proceeds Benefit At Risk Youth and Rescued Horses
Registered 501C3 Non-Profit Charity
Needs List
Zuma’s can ALWAYS use your tax-deductible cash donations. But if you can’t donate cash, have you considered all the non-cash things you could offer to help the rescued horses? Here is a list of some things the Ranch needs NOW:
- Volunteer labor
- Grass Hay 12 tons per month
- Round bale attachment for New Holland Skid Steer
- Grain: Nutrena Senior 50 lb bags
- Grain: Nutrena Youth 50 lb bags
- 29 Quest Plus wormers
- Water hose and spray nozzels (always breaking!)
- Manure forks
- 3-sided loafing sheds
- Horse-friendly fencing (labor and materials are needed for horse fencing construction. We have 146 acres…mostly unfenced. More fence= more horses that can be saved)
- Fence gates for new pastures
- Horse bedding (shavings)
- New feed wagon (the bottom fell out of ours!)
- Cobb-sized halters
- Lead ropes
- Horse shampoo & conditioner
- Mane & tail spray
- Hoof oil
- Licensed Psychotherapists who will volunteer their time
- Brushes
- Muck Baskets
- Feed troughs for outdoor shelters
Your donations help turn unwanted horses into useful, loving companions that can help heal the wounded hearts of the foster children in our program. Click below to watch a video about how these horses, once rehabilitated, can give back:
A Letter To Our Mentors~Without Them There Would Be No ELP
Hello everyone,
I hope you are all enjoying the March session of ELP! I think we have seen great progress with many of our kiddos. I see our little ones starting to push some boundaries and test a bit. Our teen group challenged us for the first few weeks, but I think things fell into place on Monday and the documentary is going to be amazing!
You guys are doing a great job with data collection. I know it is hard, but it really is the way to show the insurance companies and funders that what we are doing works. We will become Medicaid providers as of the May session, which may change a few things. For the most part we already take all the data in information they will need. It is exciting- it should help with funding for a lot of our kids.
Thank you for being on top of the sign in-sign out. As we get more organized and progress we will add and subtract protocol. We will start monitoring who picks kids up in the May session and each kid will have a list of who is allowed to pick them up. We will also be doing a communication log starting in May. I am not sure what that will look like yet, but we will go over it prior to the May session starting.
Other news:
We have 2 kids being paid for by the county and one of them is court ordered. All steps forward to the counties recognizing that kids are getting so much from this and that it is worth funding!
We are going to start a weekly mentor training. It will be every from 12:45-1:30. We will role play and work on various scenarios as well as go over questions you guys have. Monday night mentors-you are welcome at the Saturday training. If we need to add a training on Mondays we will look into that. Let me know. That training will start this Saturday!
May session sign ups… it is that time again to sign up for the next session. If you are not continuing, please, please please try to find someone to take your place. The Teen group will be May 3rd, 10th, 17th, 27th, June7th and 14th. The Preteen group will be May 8th, 15th, 22nd, June 5th, 12th, 19th. We will be off the weekend of Memorial Day (May 29th and 31st). Let me know by April 10th if you are returning or who is replacing you. We will have a New Mentor Training on May 1st.
We are going to add ELP Volunteer Hours. Right now the Teen group comes and works from 3-5. It has been a challenge but we have worked most of the kinks out. A lot of the kids have expressed interest in volunteering, but they can’t come whenever they want and we can’t offer supervision throughout the week. So, we will continue the Teen Volunteer Hours on Mondays from 3-5. Typically this group cleans stalls and then plays a game. We will be adding a second work task as they can handle it. The Pre-Teen Volunteer Hours will either be on Saturdays following ELP or on Sundays. Are any of you interested in supervising the kids? The pre-teens would be dusting the arena, washing buckets, etc. There would be little horse involvement to keep the need for supervision ratio down. If you are interested talk to me.
We will also be having an ELP Summer CAMP!!! Summer Camp will be the week of June 14 to 18. It will be between 5 and 6 hours a day with a mix of equine activities, games, hiking and possible field trip. We are looking volunteers who can help out with the kiddos. If interested, talk to me.
Finally- We need to do a Mentor Melting Pot Night. Coordinating 20 mentors and 6 facilitators calendars is insanity, add on top the Colorado weather… So April 12th at 8:00. Email me if you are going to attend so we can make a reservation.
I can’t thank you all enough for what you are doing for these kids and what you have done for me. Starting this program is an amazing experience and has helped me to settle into my new home.
Maura Stack-Oden, MA, BCABA
Behavior Analyst
Zuma’s Rescue Ranch
440-840-9146 (cell)
720-344-8971(fax)
Zuma’s Volunteer Of The Month
Meet Dan Schlachtenhaufen, Zuma’s volunteer of the month for February.
Volunteer Of The Month of February
Dan only started volunteering at Zuma’s in late January and since that time he has consistently volunteered between 20 to 25 hours a week. No job is too difficult for Dan, he cleans paddocks/pastures and the stalls. He even feeds breakfast and lunch to our herd and is by far the earliest volunteer to arrive at the ranch at 7:30am.
Due to Dan’s dedication he has learned all about the horses and knows them all by name.
Zuma’s Rescue Ranch is very lucky to have Dan and all our other volunteers, we couldn’t do this without you all.
Thank you to all the Zuma’s volunteers and congratulations Dan!
Join Zuma’ this weekend at the Rocky Mountain Horse Expo.
Equine Assisted Learning
Volunteers Needed!
Zuma’s operates with a skeleton crew supplemented by its cherished volunteers. Volunteers are the backbone of Zuma’s Rescue Ranch, as they are of any non-profit organization–especially any program that involves animals. Programs like ours never rest: there are no days off when caring for heartbeats.
Volunteer opportunities at the ranch are fun, varied, outdoor learning experiences; a chance to get out of the office, out of the house and outdoors. Most of our volunteers would rather clean a barn than their own homes, and for that we love them.
The Ranch has no prerequisites to become part of our volunteer family, just a love for children and/or horses and the outdoors. You need not have horse experience. We can teach you everything you need to know to care for them, a lesson well worth learning.
Volunteer Training : Every 1st and 4th Saturday from 9:00 am-12:00 pm, volunteers can come and learn the ropes. Once you have successfully completed the volunteer training, we offer flexibility in volunteer opportunity scheduling.
Volunteers who have completed the training session are always needed for help with the following:
- Early morning feeding crew (7:30 am)
- Late morning pasture and stall cleaners (9-10 am)
- Lunch time feeding crew (12-1 pm)
- Early evening feeding crew (4-5 pm)
- Early evening pasture and stall cleaning crew (3-5 pm)
- Any time of day for the following; horse groomers, riders, mane pullers, body clippers.
Electricians, plumbers, framers, handy men, excavators & roofers are always needed for projects.
We are always looking for groups that need corporate work days. We have the work and need the help.
Please contact our volunteer coordinator for opportunities:volunteers@zumasrescueranch.com
The Morning Poo Stomp
Beacon Center for Family and Children
Wow, how an organization entrusted with the care of at risk youth be so careless. Seems they are very good at back pedaling when staff make mistakes, not so good at placing the child’s mental health in front of their own corporate agendas. If organizations providing care for at risk youth do not step out of the box when it comes to providing solution…… we will continue with the same alarming statistics of 54% of children removed from their homes do not graduate from high school and 80% end up in prison at some point in their lives.
unconditional acceptance, just what they need!
Beacon Center newly appointed Executive Director has not clue number one what goes on in the house which became boldly clear in a meeting with him today.
Zuma’s offered five wonderful young women the opportunity at no cost to take part in our $460.00 per person sensational experiential learning program. While the young women were benefiting greatly from the experience, a fact agreed upon by all involved, sadly the powers that be at the Beacon Center pulled the girls from the program mid-stream with 1.5 hours notice.
This road was rocky from day one, the program coördinator from the Beacon Center did not read or fill out the necessary paper work prior to the first day of the program. Zuma’s staff asked repeatedly to have the paper work completed prior to the programs start day, obviously this fell on deaf ears. So here we are week 5 of a six-week program…… and five of our eight program participants pulled with no justification. Vague statements of clinical boundaries, licensing regulations and the sort were stated. Though the fact that we are not a therapy center nor are we bound by therapy red tape were ignored…. We are not obligated to the same broke standard, we offer an experiential learning environment, and we do not let policy dictate our educational plans. Out of the Box if you will.
In our collective opinion removing the girls from their mentors and their horses without so much as a good-bye was sadly the wrong thing to do. Putting the clients of Beacon Center first should be of the utmost importance, not protecting exposures allowed by Beacon House staff members. What happened here was not congruent with the mission statement at the Beacon Center. This was in no way in the best interest of the young women participating, these young people have already had so many people walk out of their lives, this was just one more disappointment for them, re-enforcing their fear of attachment.
Zuma’s Rescue Ranch along with The University of Denver have developed a better method of reaching these at risk youth, which was sadly ignored by the Beacon Center.
Breaking the mold is what really needs to happen, the status quo is failing our children.
Won’t you join Zuma’s in making a better path for these kids, Don’t stick with a failed system just because “this is how it is done” or” This is how we keep our license” If it is broken…… FIX IT!
Zuma’s has fixed it, Zuma’s has a better way and it is time to be” out with the old and in with the new.”
Zuma’s Dream began as a quest for a better way for at risk youth and horses
Zuma’s
Photo Courtesy Robyn Beck
Today the dream, Zuma’s Rescue Ranch exists largely due to the two dedicated founders Jodi and Paul Messenich.The couple have dedicated their once profitable multi- million dollar equestrian center to serve the needs of at risk youth and horses. This heart job comes with a substantial price tag, every year the pair spend close to $200,00 of their retirement to fund as well as work 7 days per week to keep the mission at Zuma’s alive.
Zuma’s is designed to prevent at risk youth from slipping through the cracks of society, while simultaneously saving horses destined for slaughter.
According to the National Social Services Organization, roughly 80% of the worlds current prison inmates were former foster children. This is a clear sign that the current system is not working.
Add to that, a country that turns a blind eye to and estimated 450,000 horses sent to foreign Countries to be brutally slaughtered. Something is terribly wrong with this picture.
Zuma’s rescues those horses from slaughter and pairs them with at risk children in a therapeutic setting designed to heal both mind and spirit of horse and child.
Our system is having dramatic effects on the children’s lives fortunate enough to partake in our programs.
In 2009 Zuma’s helped more than 30 families and rescued 20+ horses. We would like to do more in 2010 but we need your help.
Zuma’s needs funding to further our mission.
The bottom line at Zuma’s is hitting a low point and if something doesn’t change drastically soon, the funds bolstering the operation will run out. It has been such a great first year at Zuma’s that the belief is funding is just around the corner….2009 brought in nearly $45,000 in donations which is excellent for a first year non-profit, we hope to double that in 2010 as well as make a big dent in the four million dollar endowment necessary for sustainable funding.
If you have ties to some of the following needs listed below please contact Zuma’s and make the connections: 303-346-7493
- Endowment Funds from folks needing a great tax deduction $500.00-$100,000 levels available
- Monthly fiscal commitments from community members – sustainable funding source Example, I will donate $25.00 per month to Zuma’s
- Consistent labor donations- Example, I will help out at Zuma’s every Monday 7-10am
- Event Venue Donations- Auditoriums, concert venues, Donated spaces for fund-raising events
- Program Sponsors Example, I will sponsor a new child’s six-week therapy program ($220 each session)
- Horse Sponsor, Example I will provide funds and care for one rescue horse for the year ($2,500)
As you can see from our $200,000 annual operating expense at Zuma’s, we would only need $547.00 per day in donations. That is only 700 people to commit to .83c donation per day, or $25.00 a month charitable contribution to Zuma’s.
Won’t you recruit 10 people to commit .83 cents per day to Zuma’s mission? If we all recruit 10 people to set up an auto pay to Zuma’s for $25.00 per month ($300) per year, the operation funds are met and countless children and their families will have access to the wonderful effective experiential therapy.
Please start your recruiting today:
My commitment to Zuma’s
I ____________________________ commit to drafting 10 friends and family to support at $25.00 per month to the mission at Zuma’s.
_______________________________ _________________
signature Date
Here are my 10 recruits
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Print today’s blog and send in your commitment to: fax 720-344-8971 or email info@zumasrescueranch.com
Please Donate to Zuma’s!
Help us change the lives of those once destine for despair.
Support Zumas’ Mission with every email you send
You can support the Ranch by adding the picture and text below to your email signature. Copy and paste it into your signature for all outgoing emails, and become part of our Mission by spreading our name to everyone in your circle of contacts. Send us an email (info@zumasrescueranch.com) and let us know you’ve joined the mission! Thanks for your support!
If you have and interest in donating to support the Mission at Zuma’s please visit our donate page.
Zuma’s Rescue Ranch supports foster children and rescued horses so that they can help one another heal the wounds in their hearts and minds. At the Ranch, horses who were destined for slaughter are rescued, rehabilitated, and trained, so that they can help children who have been similarly discarded by our failing system in equine-assisted psychotherapy sessions. To learn more and find out how you can help, please email Jodi Messenich (Jodi@zumasrescueranch.com) or visit http://www.zumasrescueranch.com or http://zumasrescueranch.wordpress.com today. Zuma’s is an approved 501(c)3 non-profit organization. Your donations are tax-deductible. Please support these children and horses. Lives are not disposable.
A Little Snow Doesn’t Slow the Zuma Crew Down
Despite the snow and cold weather expected to hit again this weekend, the work at Zuma’s is never done. There are always hungry horses to be fed and stalls to be cleaned and Zuma’s ALWAYS appreciates a helping hand. The Saturday Volunteer Training will be held – sun, rain or snow, so bundle up and bring your thermos full of hot cocoa! Please drive safely if you plan on joining us this weekend!
Here are some pictures from our last snow storm, courtesy of Maura Stack-Oden.
