Changing Lives and Growing Gardens

As some of you may know the Fidelis Foundation is blessed to have Sybil Lee as part of our board.  I do not remember when I first met Sybil, but I do remember hearing her name associated with many non-profits in Horry County serving the at-risk and disadvantaged.  It has been 7 years since I have entered the non-profit world and I am glad to say that she and I are on the same team!  Her enthusiasm is contagious!

Yesterday, she and I met at Double C Ranch, the home of Fidelis, to begin our garden.  Although fearful of snakes and other creepy-crawlies I jumped right in.  Double C Ranch is located on the Socastee Swamp.  Although at times it makes for messy paddocks for our horses, it is an ideal location for a garden!

For those readers with green thumbs, the specific location on the property was chosen because it is close to water access, is on a downward slope, has some shade combined with direct sunlight, and is far enough out of the way that it will not interrupt the daily business of the barn.  Here is our before photo.

As you can see, it was run over with weeds and random cinderblocks.  Not to worry!  We were able to use those to construct a wall on the other side.  After some raking and replanting of those "weeds" we were able to find some great soil.  We replanted the weeds above our garden to help with soil erosion.  

The after picture looks promising!

As you can see under the hearty soil was a concrete slab. Although we don't know why it is there, it will make a great solid ground for raised beds.  Also in the after picture, you can see the beginnings of a compost pile in the upper right hand side.  This was constructed using 5 pallets and some left over lumber that was behind the barn!  While constructing our compost pile we found a pile of angry fire ants.  Did you know that baking soda and vinegar will remove these pests from your yard?  

This garden will provide not only a learning experience for our Fidelis riders, but also means for us to reach out into the community.  The vegetables grown here will be donated to various organizations in the community, except for the carrots.  I know a few horses that will be glad to munch on them right here at Double C.  In the mean time we are seeking support from various community members and businesses.

Our needs list currently includes:
Gloves
Shovels
Hoses and nozzles
One raised garden bed
Various vegetable seed
Community members with green thumbs who wish to help!

Spring has Sprung!

The Fidelis Family has been busy this Spring!

We started off on Sunday, March 30th with a little Spring Cleaning!  As you may already know our program meets every Sunday of the month.  The first four Sundays we have scheduled for various at-risk youth in our community to come out to the barn.  On the occasional fifth Sunday we encourage our volunteers to come out and ride so they get to enjoy our therapy horses as well!

Unfortunately it was feeling more like January than the end of March and only three of our volunteers could join us.  Before they tacked up they stepped into Double C Ranch's tack room and did a complete make-over!  Thank you to Sybil, Lucy, and Thereze for spending your Sunday with us and organizing our tack room!

Courage

"You have plenty of courage, I am sure," answered Oz.  "All you need is confidence in yourself."

L. Frank Baum, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz

The above image and quote perfectly sum up Fidelis this past Sunday, February 2nd.  Fidelis hosted Peggy's Kids and was graced with 9 courageous riders and 18 beautiful volunteers.  I was lucky enough to spend my afternoon walking beside Lexington and his brave rider.  As the above photo shows his rider nearly comes up to his shoulders.

Typically, we save Lexington for our older kids that join us.  But not today.  She sized up the magnificent Lexington and said "Nope, I want to ride him today."  And you know what she did!  She did a fantastic job, walking him through the obstacle course and trotting independently.  The hardest part of our Sunday is always when the kids ask for one more lap around the ring and we finally have to say no.  Of course the no always comes after having "one more lap" three times!

As much credit as our rider deserves, I have to give Lexington some love here too.   He has been a HUGE asset to our program, and I am not just talking about in his size!  He is strong enough to carry our mature riders, but sweet enough for our munchkins too!  We love Lexington and would like to ask for some help from our friends.

Lexington costs our program approximately $3,000 per year in expenses.  We are currently seeking sponsors for him.  We need 150 of our followers to donate $20.14 to support Lexington this year.  This will be a tax-deductible donation and your $20.14 will us "Change Lives, One Stride at a Time!"

For more information please visit our website at www.fidelisfoundationsc.com or email us at fidelismyrtlebeach@gmail.com

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!

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.  

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!

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!