Haven Acres
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Mission Statement
Haven Acres offers a safe, country environment where hurting youth find hope, healing, and restoration through their interaction with horses and loving mentors that exhibit the transformational love of Jesus. The design is to pair one child with one mentor and one horse that will work together on a weekly basis. A child between the ages of 7-17 will come out, free of charge, once a week for a 90 minute session. They will help do chores around the farm for the first half of the session and then work with the horse, grooming and learning basic horsemanship for the last half of their session. They will be given opportunities to build confidence, trust and a good work ethic which will help them as they deal with other difficulties they may face.
About This Cause
Haven Acres has been established to serve the youth of Burnsville and the surrounding communities. The founders, Jason and Jenifer Heath, took in a teenage boy over 13 years ago that struggled with depression and learning disabilities due to the abuse and neglect he had suffered as a child. The Heaths heard about a youth ranch out West that used horses to help heal kids with these types of issues, and when they searched for one nearby that could possibly assist the hurting teen they were raising, they were unable to find one in the area. The idea of someday running a similar ranch was conceived all those years ago and has finally come to pass. The program is being developed by following the model of a youth ranch in Oregon called Crystal Peaks Youth Ranch. Crystal Peaks Youth Ranch has developed a program that has been shown to be very effective and over one hundred other ranches have followed their example and reproduced similar programs around the country. The majority of the horses used in the program are rescue horses or have some sort of disability. This helps the child to learn that although the horse may not be perfect, he is still useful and valuable. This aids the child in realizing that although they may be experiencing problems or failures, they are still worthwhile and are valuable because they have special gifts and abilities that no one else possesses. They feel needed because the horse relies on them, but in turn, they receive healing by giving back to the animal. We were granted our 501(c)3 in June 2014. We started programming in the summer of 2013 and have run 2 seasons thus far. In 2013, we served about 8 kids on a weekly basis and a few others on an occasional basis. In 2014, we doubled, serving approximately 16 kids weekly with a few others occasionally. Based on current interest and applications, we are anticipating serving around 20-25 kids in the 2015 season beginning in June. We have had very positive feedback from program participants and have had multiple referrals from those families. We have a board of directors that includes a CPA, an engineer, a vice president of a union and three others that have a real passion for children. They will be helping us deliver our very best service to the community and manage our resources wisely. We have acquired special insurance to cover the liabilities involved and are taking every precaution to ensure the safety of program participants. To date, all of our staff have been volunteers and have served, selflessly giving of their time and talents to bless the kids and families in our community. We could not do it without our volunteers!