Wolfe Ranch of Quakerdale

Hello Friends of Wolfe Ranch!

Well folks…to say this year has been one for the books is certainly an understatement! We have had to be very flexible and creative and business certainly has not been as usual or as expected. We are so blessed we have been able to keep innovating and thinking outside the box to keep moving forward!

We have definitely been keeping very busy despite the pandemic and thanks to the August Derecho. We thought this was a good time to share the improvements and updates we have been making to our Ranch facility as well as update you on the repairs from the storm. After you finish reading about these updates and repairs, take a couple more minutes to watch the videos giving you a virtual tour!

“In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.” 1 Thessalonians 5:18

November has always been one of my favorite months of the year, with the change in weather, fall sports and the time I get to spend with my family. This year has been especially difficult and I wanted to take some time to remind myself to give thanks for my many blessings as well as to challenge others to focus on gratitude and thankfulness.

One of the things that helps me ground myself is being at the Wolfe Ranch and getting to spend time with our horses. I am so thankful I get to work together with our equine partners providing Equine Assisted Therapy.

We know this intuitively and research has shown activities with horses assist in building skills we all need, and are vital to building relationships. We see this in every interaction our clients have with our horses, many of them developing a strong and lasting bond with “their” horse. We frequently have visits from past clients who want to check in on how their horse is doing and just want to spend some time with them reconnecting and re-grounding themselves. They talk about how they use what they learned through the horses and how they remind themselves they are strong and can manage what life throws at them.

So…Monday, August 10th started out just like any other day…doing chores, feeding the horses and feeding our barn cat, Jules. The day was full with us continuing to finish up our updates to the kitchen and dining room. We also had a volunteer coming in to help in doing a deep cleaning of the main lodge. We were scheduled to have a ribbon cutting ceremony the next day with the Marshalltown Chamber of Commerce.

Earlier in the morning we started getting reports of a fast moving storm sweeping across  Iowa. We kept an eye on the radar and then the weather radio started going off with alerts. The rain started first and then suddenly without warning, the wind picked up. The shingles on the barn started to peel up and the pump house roof started to rise up off the building.

By this time, the rain was coming down so hard we could barely see the out-buildings from the main lodge. As we were standing in the doorway doing a visual check of the horses before we headed to the basement, the storm door was flung open by the wind. At this point we had no choice but to head to the safety of the basement. We stayed there until we could hear the wind subside and then slowly came back upstairs to see what was going on outside. 

Click here to listen to this recent interview with Dave Smith, our Ranch Manager!

IT’s NEVER TOO LATE … to do something GREAT!

“I thought therapy was going to be boring. I was wrong, I want to come to my sessions at the Ranch and be with the horses.”

INVEST IN OUR MISSION …(https://wolferanchquakerdale.org/invest/)…

BY DONATING TODAY!(https://www.classy.org/give/281224/#!/donation/checkout)

#WRSpring2020

WE NEED YOU… to MAKE A DIFFERENCE in someone’s life!

“To build trust with a horse, you have to talk to it, care for it, and spend time with it. Building trust with horses is just like building trust with people.”

“I want to come to therapy…never thought I would say that!”

“I never realized how much we don’t listen to one another until we tried to get a horse over an obstacle as a bunch of individuals rather than working together.”

INVEST IN OUR MISSION …(https://wolferanchquakerdale.org/invest/)…

BY DONATING TODAY!(https://www.classy.org/give/281224/#!/donation/checkout)

#WRSpring2020

YOU CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE… the final weekend of our campaign!

“Being with the horses is my weekly respite, it just calms me down to be with them.”

“Horses are incredibly forgiving. They fill in places we’re not capable of filling ourselves.” Buck Brannaman

INVEST IN OUR MISSION …https://wolferanchquakerdale.org/invest/…

BY DONATING TODAY! https://www.classy.org/give/281224/#!/donation/checkout#WRSpring2020

INVEST IN OUR MISSION
… at Wolfe Ranch of Quakerdale

Partnering with Quakerdale Family Services, Wolfe Ranch is helping to transform lives. Help us care for our most important staff — Our Horses. Why?

“The horse helped me learn to love and trust again. I now know I can tell my family what I am feeling and it will be okay.”

“I don’t like to open up, because I expect others to hurt me. The horse always listens to me, and it has never hurt me.”

INVEST IN OUR MISSION …

(https://wolferanchquakerdale.org/invest/)

… BY DONATING TODAY!

(https://www.classy.org/give/281224/#!/donation/checkout)

#WRSpring2020

EXPLORE THE 4 WAYS YOU CAN GET INVOLVED
at Wolfe Ranch of Quakerdale

*** Join Our Team ***

(https://wolferanchquakerdale.org/join-our-team/)

AS A Prayer Partner — Stay informed by subscribing to our https://wolferanchquakerdale.org/enewsletter-form/and then ask God daily, weekly, or monthly to use our staff and volunteers to accomplish His purposes in the lives of those we serve.

AS A Volunteer — use your time and talents to join our team as together we make a difference in the lives of those we serve.

*** Invest in Our Mission ***

(https://wolferanchquakerdale.org/invest/)

Donate — Make a gift of any size to our Spring 2020 Campaign

(https://www.classy.org/give/281224/#!/donation/checkout) #WRSpring2020

Leave a Legacy — Create a Planned Gift that can generate retirement income, and give both today and well into the future.

(https://quakerdalefoundation.org/legacy/)