Thursday, January 30, 2014

Fidelis has a New Partner!

Jonas Marc Style Studio has partnered with the Fidelis Foundation of Myrtle Beach!

I would like to extend a big thank you to owner Kathy Marcus for extending a warm welcome of our organization into her business' heart!  Kathy has asked each of her stylists to choose a mission that is close to their heart.  Lucky for us, stylist Amanda has chosen Fidelis!

This will be an excellent avenue for Fidelis.  Not only will this be an avenue to share our mission but the wonderful staff at Jonas Marc will spoil six of our volunteers in 2014!

I can speak first hand of the character of Kathy Marcus and her team.  Kathy has always been community oriented and I spent the morning of my wedding with her team.  Her studio is in Carolina Forest in the Forest Square Shopping Center.  Be sure to check it out.

I am beyond grateful for this opportunity!  A special thank you to Summer and Kathy for making this possible!

Monday, January 20, 2014

Charms for Change

The Fidelis Foundation is really excited to share our newest fundraiser.  We will be selling charm bracelets crafted from antique, silver-spoons.  These bracelets are hand-made and will be custom made for you!  You simply choose the charm, tell us the measurement for your wrist and send us $35.00.  We accept cash, card, and checks made to the Fidelis Foundation.


 This is the perfect gift for the horse-loving lady in your life.  
Order by February 1st for Valentine's Day delivery.  

For more information please email us at fidelismyrtlebeach@gmail.com.  


Wednesday, January 15, 2014

Seacoast Ladies on January 12th

Do you ever have one of those days where no matter how much you try things don't always go according to your "plan"?

That was the case for me this past Sunday.  It was my plan to arrive thirty minutes early, bring the horses in, lay tack out and wait for our participants. However, when I pulled into the gates, I was greeted by Lake Double C, located in our arena. After some mechanical errors and a quick lesson in tractor driving from Jennifer we had a usable arena for our riders today.  Before I knew it, the parking lot at Double C Ranch was full with volunteers and five young ladies from Seacoast Youth Academy.  I checked the time to realize I was behind schedule.  Our volunteers handled the rules and introductions with our new riders and off we went to bring in our trusty therapy horses.  Unfortunately, our equine partners had other plans in mind.  They were found way back in the mucky pasture.  Covered in mud up to our shins we returned with four horses who were ready to teach us some lessons!

In the midst of the hustle and bustle of trying to get things started on time, I noticed myself feeling stressed.  Little did I know I would be partnered with a young lady and pony who would teach me a thing or two.  This young lady not only shared my name and hair color, but she too was feeling stressed!  It was her first time on a horse.  I could tell by the look in her eyes and her posture that she was apprehensive about riding.  Horses have an amazing sense of our feelings, that is one of the many reasons they are so valuable in our program.  The tension in her body was quickly sensed by Holly (the pony) who began to pull at our riders hands, take quick steps, and carry her head high, which as you can imagine only caused more worry for our rider who had never been on a horse before. 

It was at this point I realized that perhaps it was my baggage that was impacting this situation.  I look forward to Fidelis all week and I was not going to let time and muck ruin our day!  I had our rider practice halting her horse.  While we were stopped we did some deep breathing exercises.  I could feel myself relaxing, I could see Holly relaxing and most importantly a smile on this young girls face.  Amazing how something so small has such a huge impact! 

As we continued our walk around the arena, this novice equestrian moved from gripping the horn on her saddle to riding with two hands on her reins to walking independently!  And her grin only got bigger!  It was an honor to see her gain such confidence in only a short period of time.

If you have not had the opportunity to join us for Fidelis I invite you to take the time out of your schedule and see what we are doing.  You may not know it, but you might be the one who leaves the barn with more than you came with!

Monday, January 13, 2014

Jumbles of Fun!

First of all I would like to apologize for it being so long since I've last posted.  Never fear, it is part of my New Years Resolution to spread the word of Fidelis so you can plan on hearing from me at least once a week!

Our youngest Fidelis riders were in for a real treat this month!  On January 5th we were tickled to host Jennifer, Hans, and Morgan from Jumbles of Fun pottery!  Jennifer was introduced to Fidelis from our own Kimmi Case.  Originally from North Carolina, Jennifer has years of pottery and party experience!  She brought many beautiful pieces of pottery for our participants to paint.  It was a great way for our riders to express their creativity and be able to create a unique piece of artwork that is their own!  It was beyond fun to watch them paint their horses, piggy banks, tiles, plates, and jewelery boxes.  A very special thanks to Jennifer and her family for sharing their talent with us!  We will be posting pictures of their completed work when it is fresh out of the kiln.

Jennifer has also been kind enough to create a mural for Fidelis.  This will be an opportunity for us to sell tiles to businesses who chose to sponsor our foundation.  Keep an eye out for sponsorship opportunities in 2014!

It was a great day for many of us to step out of our comfort zone and make a mucky day into great memories!  Thank you to all of our community members who are making Fidelis possible!