Founded in 1989, EQUI-KIDS is a 501c3 organization that provides life-changing equine-assisted services to a large and diverse community of children and adults with special needs, active-duty service members, veterans, and first responders in Virginia Beach and within Hampton Roads. We are located on 92 beautiful acres off Sandbridge Road in the Heritage Park neighborhood of Virginia Beach. The organization is accredited by the Professional Association of Therapeutic Horsemanship International (PATH Intl.) as a Premier Accredited Center. PATH Intl., a federally registered 501 (c)3, that leads the advancement of professional equine-assisted services by supporting its members and stakeholders through rigorously developed standards, credentialing and education.
EQUI-KIDS serves an average of 80 to 100 participants each week and all services are provided by credentialed providers. Our services include therapeutic riding, therapeutic horsemanship, equine-assisted learning, equine-assisted psychotherapy with a licensed mental health provider (mental health services for individuals and groups), Speech Therapy, EQUI-VETS Military Service Program (serving active-duty service members and veterans), EQUI-HEROES (serving first responders), job coaching, school partnership programs, summer inclusion camps, and educational workshops. Participants range in age from 5 years to seniors in their 90s with more than 150 distinct diagnoses recorded.
EQUI-KIDS relies upon 250 active volunteers who receive rigorous training and who provide over 7,000 volunteer hours annually. More than 800 participants are served during an average fiscal year. The organization is governed by a volunteer board of directors and is staffed by 11 full-time and 16 part-time employees, along with a herd of 12 horses, 4 ponies, and 2 miniature horses. Each horse is a different size and has a unique personality, which provides us the opportunity to create the optimal match between the horse and participant.
EQUI-KIDS has a highly engaged and influential board of directors. EQUI-KIDS fundraising comprises 92% of its gross annual operating revenue of $1,386,000.00. All therapeutic riding and therapeutic horsemanship lessons at EQUI-KIDS are subsidized at 85% so that our families can participate at the lowest cost possible. These services are offered at $25 to $65 per lesson and the actual cost to provide each service is $120 to $400 per lesson. Our EQUI-VETS, EQUI-HEROES, and school partnership programs are offered at no cost to the participants.
EQUI-KIDS continually improves the methodology and evaluation of its services to develop the most positive, cost-effective, efficient services and organizational structure possible. EQUI-KIDS provides therapeutic interventions to help develop healthier, more productive citizens, creating a positive impact for our community today and in the future. We have the ability to create sustainable, long-term programs that provide measurable objectives that carry over into the participant’s life at school or at work, at home, and in the community. EQUI-KIDS is an invaluable resource for children and adults with special needs and their families as well as our military heroes and first responders.
EQUI-KIDS is funded entirely through private contributions. Each dollar donated to our organization is carefully stewarded to ensure it provides the maximum benefit and broadest impact for those we serve. Our board of directors, staff, volunteers, donors, participants and their families play a key role in our past, present and continued success.