Katlin Swanson has won the prestigious "Young Woman of Tomorrow Award" at the Women of Distinction Awards luncheon. As the recipient of this award, Katlin got to choose a charity to donate $500 to from the Women and Girls Fund of Waukesha County and the Waukesha Community Foundation. Thankfully she chose LifeStriders as her charity.

Katlin was also a member of the DECA team that raised money through their Bash in the Grass efforts in 2006 for LifeStriders, and we appreciate all that she has done for LifeStriders. LifeStriders works because of its community support and the organization could not do it without you. On behalf of all the families, participants, and volunteers at LifeStriders - Thank you Katlin and Congratulations on being this year's "Woman of Tomorrow."

2008 Sessions

Over the course of a year, the cost of feed, shavings, hoof care, standard veterinary care, and other expenses for our program horses add up to over $3,000 per horse. We therefore invite you to partner with LifeStriders in the care of our amazing therapy horses, and sponsor a LifeStriders horse! Click HERE to download a Sponsor Form! (PDF format)

For Your Annual Donation:
* Certificate of Sponsorship with a picture of your horse (See Meet the Horses)
* A tax deductible donation receipt
* Your name engraved in brass on the stall door
* Personalized periodic updates on your horse
* Recognition in LifeStriders publications

Your support will enable the organization to continue providing high quality care for the LifeStriders horses, while keeping the cost of lessons and therapy as low as possible for our riders. Sponsorships are available to individuals, companies, clubs, or any other organization.

Interested parties should contact Veronica Sosa at 262.565.6124 or fill out the form and mail it to LifeStriders and we will contact you. Thanks for your support!

Summer session Start July 14th!

LifeStriders Therapeutic Riding Summer Session and Social Skills Training classes will run for 7 weeks starting on Monday, July 14th until August 30th. Although we will be adding additional class times to accommodate those on the waiting list, the current schedule is as follows:

Mondays- 4pm class & 5pm class (Social Skills Training Only)
Tuesdays- 4pm class & 5pm class (Therapeutic Riding Only)
Wednesdays- 4pm class & 5pm class (Therapeutic Riding Only)
Thursdays- 4, 5, & 6pm classes (Therapeutic Riding Only)
Saturdays- 9am, 10am, 11 am classes (Therapeutic Riding Only)

If your child was enrolled in the spring session you do not need to register for the summer session as they have the exact same riding days and times assigned to them for the summer session. A total of 3 credits will be offered for the classes that were canceled due to flooding. Please call Veronica to schedule any make up lessons that were pending prior to the flood for rain days. IF YOU DO NOT PLAN ON HAVING YOUR CHILD PARTICIPATE IN THE SUMMER SESSION PLEASE EMAIL US TO LET US KNOW ASAP.

In addition to the therapeutic riding program LifeStriders is now offering additional family support services:

**Low cost & sliding scale counseling services for individuals, children and families offered by Veronica Sosa Agnoli, M.S. School Psychologist and Licensed Professional Counselor (training through UW-Madison)

**Educational counseling and consulting services specializing in special education. Helping parents work in collaboration with schools and representing families in IEP/504 meetings.

**LifeStriders Social Skills Program (starts July 14th, 2008)
These fun and interactive groups are designed for children ages 6-12 with challenges in the area of social-communication that affects the quality of their interpersonal relationships. The goals of the groups include increasing social awareness, understanding others peoples' perspectives, and understanding the impact of their own behavior on the impressions that other people form of them. It is a fun class for kids to learn the skills they need in building social connections. LifeStriders social skills classes will be held in a small group setting with individualized activities. Classes will be held on Mondays at 4 pm and 5pm. Both groups will be facilitated by Veronica Sosa Agnoli, MS. and Ann Treleven-Carl, LifeStriders social skills trainer. Limited spaces available.

PAYMENT POLICY: LifeStriders is a non-profit organization that is committed to offering accessible therapeutic services to our community. One of the ways we are able to keep our prices significantly below going rates is by minimizing accounting costs. LifeStriders charges $30.00/per therapeutic hour if paid in advance or $65.00/therapeutic hour if paid after July 21, 2008. We ask that the entire therapeutic riding or social skills session ($210.00) be paid for in advance by sending a check (no cash) to our address before July 21, 2008. If your child is enrolled in the federally funded school lunch program (free lunch) they may be eligible to receive scholarship funding for services provided at LifeStriders. We must have the school's verification on file before July 14th in order to qualify. TOTAL SUMMER SESSION PAYMENTS FOR THOSE WISHING TO USE THE 3 CREDITS FROM THE SPRING SESSION THAT WERE DUE TO FLOODING IS $120.00

Please feel free to email me or call us at 262-565-6124 if you would like to inquire about any of the services being offered at LifeStriders.

We thank you and look forward to working with you and your family!

Sincerely,

Veronica Sosa Agnoli, M.S.
Executive Director

Labels: Summer Session 2008

Dear Volunteers, Participants, and Sponsors,

The last week at LifeStriders has not gone according to plan at all and is like no week we have ever seen during our sessions or anywhere in Waukesha county over the last 95 years for that matter. The rain waters that have flooded so many of the Midwest streams, rivers, lakes, and farmland has flooded over the LifeStriders property.

We estimate that we have received over 10 inches of rain in this short time and much more runoff from neighboring farmland. Unfortunately for everyone, this means that until the ground absorbs the water we are unable operate normally, and are still in a holding pattern until the water subsides. We have some plans on how to address 100 year floodwater runoff going forward but, they require the land to dry out to address the underlying issues. So we find ourselves in this holding pattern until the water is absorbed into the ground.

As Veronica mentioned, the horses are getting pampered by the generous time that many of the volunteers have put in helping to manage the herd with all the flooding. LifeStriders is very thankful for their dedication and help and continues to benefit from all of their support during this trying time.

Our best guess at this point, as to when the water will subside, is early July. It could be a week sooner or later than that and we will continue to correspond with everyone as the days unfold (think dry thoughts). LifeStriders thanks everyone for your support and patience, and we all look forward to warm dry summer days on the farm with horses again soon. Stay tuned to this website for weekly updates and additional LifeStriders news.

Sincerely,
Rob Conley
LifeStriders

Due to the recent batch of storms, the LifeStriders property experienced flooding unlike anything we have had in the past. We are hopeful that conditions will soon improve but don't really know how long it will take for the water to recede and for riding conditions to be safe once again. Please note that all lessons and social skills lessons will be canceled until future notice. Social skills training may resume earlier since we may be able to meet in the lobby once the water issues there are resolved. We will keep everyone posted and reschedule make-up lessons as needed.

We are happy to inform you that all of our horses are doing well. They are all being kept in the barn until ground conditions improve. We would greatly appreciate any help that volunteers might offer with barn work. Helping us out ANY DAY OF THE WEEK with either the morning barn work shift that will go from 7:30- 9 am or the evening shifts that go from 4:30 until 6:00pm would be greatly appreciated. Until conditions improve, we could use help any day of the week during those times.

Another way that the community may help is to get the word out about our need to raise funds to get an indoor riding arena. As you may know our staff has been working tirelessly trying to raise the funds necessary to ensure our program will continue to offer these great services despite weather conditions. We are currently looking for corporate sponsors and other generous donors that might be able to help our cause.

We thank you all for your cooperation and support during these challenging times!

The LifeStriders Team

A HUGE Thank You goes out to Charleston|Orwig, Inc., for their generous donation of time, materials, and creativity in filming and producing this video as well as the new LifeStriders brochure.

Charleston|Orwig, Inc.
515 W North Shore Dr
Hartland, WI 53029

Individual thanks go to:

CEO: Lyle Orwig
COO: Mark Gale

The Creative Team
Associate Creative Director: Jen Wallace
Graphic Designer: Suzanne Brown
Art Director / Videographer: Christine Bielke
Copywriter: Bill Coons
Director of Production & Traffic: Sharon Schackel
Traffic Manager: Amy Thew
Account Coordination: Hannah Jewett

LifeStriders will be able to use these presentation assets for many promotional purposes. LifeStriders is very thankful to all of you for supporting the organization's, mission, and programs.

Sincerely,
Robert Conley, President
LifeStriders

Dear Parents and Participants,

Happy Spring! We are greatly looking forward to starting our spring programs and wanted to review some important information with you.

LifeStriders Therapeutic Riding Spring Session will run for 7 weeks starting on Tuesday, May 13th until June 28th. If you would like to get your child on the waiting list please fill out and mail in the rider application available on Riders section of this website. Although we will be adding additional class times to accommodate those on the waiting list, the current schedule is as follows:

Tuesdays- 4pm class & 5pm class
Wednesdays- 4pm class & 5pm class
Thursdays- 4, 5,6pm classes
Saturdays- 9am, 10am, 11 am classes

In addition to the therapeutic riding program LifeStriders is now offering additional family support services:

• LifeStriders Social Skills Program (starts May 12, 2008) 8 spots available. These fun and interactive groups are designed for children ages 3-12 with challenges in the area of social-communication that affects the quality of their interpersonal relationships. The goals of the groups include increasing social awareness, understanding others peoples' perspectives, and understanding the impact of their own behavior on the impressions that other people form of them. It is a fun class for kids to learn the skills they need in building social connections. LifeStriders social skills classes will be held in a small group setting with individualized activities. Classes will be held on Mondays at 4 pm for ages 3-6 and 5pm for ages 7-12. Both groups will be facilitated by Veronica Sosa Agnoli, MS. and Ann Treleven-Carl, LifeStriders social skills trainer.

• Bilingual Counseling Services for individuals, children and families offered by Veronica Sosa Agnoli, M.S. former School Psychologist and LPC (training through UW-Madison). Sliding scale fees available.
  

• Educational Counseling and Consulting Services Helping parents understand special education and how to work in collaboration with schools. Representing families in IEP/504 meetings.

Payment Policy: LifeStriders is a non-profit organization that is committed to offering accessible therapeutic services to our community. LifeStriders actively fundraises throughout the year to offset the cost for parents paying out of pocket and to provide scholarship to low income families.

One of the ways we are able to keep our prices significantly below going rates is by minimizing accounting costs. LifeStriders charges $30.00/per therapeutic hour if paid in advance or $60.00/therapeutic hour if paid after May 6th, 2008. We ask that the entire therapeutic riding or social skills session ($210.00) be paid for in advance by sending a check (no cash) to our address before May 6, 2008. If your child is enrolled in the federally funded school lunch program (free lunch) they may be eligible to receive scholarship funding for services provided at LifeStriders. We must have the school's verification on file before May 6th in order to qualify.

Please feel free to email us at striders@lifestriders.com or call 262-565-6124 if you would like to inquire about any of the new services being offered at LifeStriders.

We thank you and look forward to working with you and your family!

Sincerely,

LifeStriders Team

I wanted to do something really interesting for my last “blog”. I decided to interview a rider and her mom. I interviewed Lacey and Jill Pflaz.

Lacey has been riding at LifeStriders since the summer of 2006. Lacey's favorite horse is Jesse. She told me that Jesse is her favorite horse because he is pretty and tall. Jesse also was the very first horse that Lacey rode when she started at LifeStriders. Lacey said that this winter she has missed the horses and the volunteers. Lacey is looking forward to start riding the horses again this spring. When I asked Lacey what her favorite part of lessons was, she responded that she loved playing games. She also enjoys the key hole, and barrel races.

Lacey is not the only one who loves coming to LifeStriders, her Mom loves bringing her. Jill Pfalz told me that she is so glad that Lacey has found an extra curricular activity she enjoys and can participate in. Lacey’s disability keeps her from participating in sports. Lacey has had a love for horses almost all her life. Jill told me that she was impressed by the eagerness of Veronica and Rob to individually work with each child and their specific needs. When I asked Jill how Lacey has benefited from LifeStriders, Jill responded that LifeStriders has helped Lacey so much, but over all has improved her core strength. Jill said that she did not think Lacey would ever be able to ride horses. I guess you could call this just another ordinary miracle.

LifeStriders has received two donations. As you may know, LifeStriders is a non-profit organization and is greatful for any donation large or small.
One of the donations LifeStriders received was a donation from Walmart in Delafield. Victoria is the sales associate at Walmart in Delafield. Victoria helped to get LifeStriders this wonderful donation. Victoria and her team donated $757.89.

The other donation was from the Wisconsin Walking Horse Association or WWHA. The WWHA is an organization that promotes and informs people about the Tennessee Walker. Tennessee Walkers are a breed of horse. On Saturday March 8 Veronica and Rob showed a presentation about LifeStriders to WWHA members. The WWHA gave LifeStriders a generous donation of $1,000.

Thank's again to Walmart and the Wisconsin Walking Horse Association for their charitable donations. Donating is a great way to contribute to LifeStriders, and it is greatly appreciated by the whole LifeStriders team.