Taking the Lead, Inc.

Taking the Lead, Inc. provides animal-assisted therapy utilizing trained horses during occupational therapy sessions provided by licensed therapists. Therapists are certified through the Professional Association of Therapeutic Riding (PATH) or have the supervision of a PATH-certified horse expert.

TTL's goal is to provide Hippotherapy and Heroes & Horses Veterans Programs described below:

Hippotherapy

Who We Serve

In hippotherapy sessions, clients are treated under the guidance of a licensed and registered occupational therapist.

Occupational therapists help people to function independently and successfully in the areas of life that are most important to them. OT is beneficial to a wide range of individuals, including those with physical disabilities, cognitive disabilities, those who have sustained injury, and those struggling with mental illness. Individuals of any age can benefit from hippotherapy.

Benefits

Clients goals may include gaining strength, balance, or communication tools to be more independent and successful. Other goals may include gaining coordination, building endurance, and learning to better follow commands. One of the most unique components of our hippotherapy program is the individualized home exercise programs that our occupational therapist customizes for each client.

Heroes & Horses Veterans Program

Who We Serve

In 2021, we launched a program specifically designed for current and previous military members. The Heroes & Horses program helps veterans and active-duty military members set and reach their goals in categories such as mental health, physical health, education, employment, spirituality, and community involvement. During this experience, members partner with one of our horses under the supervision of trained equine staff and a licensed occupational therapist.

Benefits

Participants build trust, connection, and a working relationship with their horse partners and their peers. While helping our special horses learn to do their jobs better, veterans find passion and purpose in life, recognize and alleviate signs of stress, improve focus and internal motivation, implement a healthy routine for fitness and mental well-being, and set attainable goals to achieve success in personal relationships, community and the workplace.

Our goal is to triple our annual budget in order to better serve our clients, increase our paid staff, and improve our facilities. Our strategy is to triple the budget by focusing our efforts on increasing program income by acquiring new clients, implementing fundraising campaigns, and securing grants.

Acquiring New Clients

We are implementing suggestions from a financial planning and business consultant specializing in equine operations to improve marketing to secure more clients for hippotherapy and to improve our admin systems to better serve current clients.

Fundraising Campaigns

TTL has two main fundraising initiatives throughout the year, a signature summer fundraising event and an End of the Year Giving Campaign. The goal for our annual signature summer fundraising event is not only raise funds, but also bring awareness to our programs and mission.

The Donate page of our website provides a number of ways for individuals to give including a link to provide a direct donation via Paypal, a link to our Amazon wish list, planned giving, and memorial gifts. We highlight these methods in our newsletters and social media. Board members and clients are encouraged to fundraise for TTL by creating birthday fundraisers on Facebook.

Securing Grants and Corporate Donations

In addition to seeking grants, reach out to companies for in-kind donations of materials and supplies needed to improve our facilities.

Goals for Increased Annual Budget

Our goals for staffing include bringing onboard more staff to assist our full time lead occupational therapist, program director, and administrative assistant.

Goals for improving facilities include renovating the trailer to be used as a cafe for clients, their families, and OT interns, building a handicap-accessible restroom, and building a climate-controlled classroom.

With an increased operating budget, we can allocate funds for program scholarships for low-income clients and keep up with the expenses of maintaining the horses and facilities.

TTL's capabilities and resources include three categories - Our Staff, Horse Farm Lease, and Relationships with Local Organizations:

The staff:

TTL paid staff members include our lead occupational therapist who is also a PATH-certified instructor, our program director, and our administrative assistant. They are supported by our board of directors, occupational therapy interns, and dedicated volunteers.

Our board of directors is comprised of professionals in the business, healthcare, and agricultural industries.

Interns come from occupational therapy (OT) masters programs and certified occupational therapy assistant programs (COTA) at Towson University, the Community College of Baltimore County, and other organizations to observe and assist in sessions to gain real-world experience and hone their skills.

Hundreds of volunteers serve TTL each year, making our programming possible. From a number of dedicated volunteers who serve each week with horses and hippotherapy sessions to volunteers who help maintain the facilities, TTL would be lost without our committed volunteers.

Horse Farm Lease:

Taking the Lead, Inc. has a lease agreement with Timberbrook Farm, located at 21000 Slab Bridge Road, Freeland, MD 21053. With the lease agreement in place, Taking the Lead, Inc. has access to the property, the barn, trails and the 80 x 100 indoor arena, outdoor arena, and outdoor animal interaction areas, with the intention of providing all the services described above.

Relationships with Local Organizations:

Penn-Mar Human Services (PMHS). Their focus is to promote community engagement, self-sufficiency, and vocational development for clients. Their interest is to utilize AAP to attain individual and group goals.

Flying Colors of Success (FCS). A community-based residential services program for individuals with intellectual disabilities, with similar goals to PMHS.

BGE, an Exelon Company. BGE has provided multiple grants to TTL and hosts volunteer days on the farm where BGE employees work on critical projects to maintain and improve facilities.

Community participants. Animal-assisted programs apply to a diverse population interested in promoting skill development to address or cope with bullying, emotional regulation, anxiety, performance skills, and leadership skills.

Some notable accomplishments include:

Securing a grant from the Knott Foundation to improve our indoor arena footing to a dust minimizing footing to improve the client experience

Being designated as a Maryland Horse Discover Center. In April of 2015, the Maryland Horse Industry Board launched a statewide network of 35 Horse Discovery Centers across 15 counties. These centers are made up of Maryland licensed stables that welcome the general public and provide a safe, friendly, and educational environment for individuals who have none or little experience with horses to have hands-on experiences.

Receiving a grant from the Maryland Horse Industry Board. Taking the Lead, Inc. is a member of the Maryland Horse Industry Board, which is part of the Maryland Department of Agriculture.

Securing a grant from the American Quarter Horse Association which funded a private seminar for our staff and volunteers with Scott Purdum

Receiving multiple grants from Autism Speaks to fund scholarships for Autism-related programs.

Being awarded multiple grants from BGE, an Exelon Company, to fund our programs and facilities projects.

What's next for TTL include:

Our plan is to continue to hold Round Ups (public tours of the farm, our mission, and our programs) monthly, engage with individual donors, facilitate relationships with local companies, host our free annual Hay Neighbors Fall Festival and our signature summer fundraising event.

We are working on getting more staff and volunteers PATH certified as well as applying for the PATH certification for our program. Professional Association of Therapeutic Horsemanship International (PATH Intl.): PATH is a federally-registered 501(c)3 nonprofit, formed in 1969 as the North American Riding for the Handicapped Association to promote equine-assisted services (EAS) for individuals with special needs. They are the credentialing organization for accrediting centers and certifying instructors and equine specialists.

We are in the process of acquiring bids and applying for grants for our next facilities improvement to construct a climate-controlled office space, meeting room, and restroom.