Mercy Foundation's
Wings of Hope Program
bears a new set of wings!
The Wings of Hope program, sponsored by Mercy Foundation, is
bringing a new and exciting resource to our Douglas County schools.
Mercy Foundation is partnering with Horse Play to bring Equine
Assisted Learning to Douglas County. This service for the students
is offered at no cost to the schools.
The Wings of Hope program was established to help children
coping with grief. This includes students who have experienced
loss, whether it is through death, abandonment, divorce, or
parental conflict. This program is child-centered and is designed
so that participants can address their own issues and concerns
while working as a group.
Equine Assisted Learning has been proven to be highly effective
for school groups. Students participate in a 10-week session,
and groups of peers spend an hour and 15 minutes in an arena
with the Horse Play team; a therapist, an equine specialist
and horses, engaging in activities that provide opportunities
for personal insight and processing.
Groups of students will be organized by age, ensuring similar
stages of development for processing. Horse Play has secured
various facilities in the community to minimize transportation
cost and time. Groups will be offered in North County, South
County and Central County locations and will rotate as the demand
requires. There will be three 8-10 week sessions offering 2-3
sessions per day:
Fall session is offered the last week of September through
Christmas break.
Winter session will be January through Spring break.
Spring session will be April through the end of school.
Dates will flex taking into account holidays and teacher
work days.
Each school is responsible for transporting their students.
A referral packet with more detailed information about locations,
deadlines and master copies for required paperwork will be distributed
to each school.
For more information on Horseplay, please contact:
Cathy Watkins
at (541) 784-7576
For more information on Wings of Hope and to enroll your students,
please contact Jimee Itzkowitz at (541) 677-2384.
