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October 2021
First Nature Notes
Check out all our latest updates.
Dear Friends of First Nature Foundation,
We are grateful for your continued support of our mission. We are slowly ramping up our activity as the rate of COVID-19 cases has slackened over the last month or so.
At the ranch, it has still been a sweaty effort to keep the horses attended to and the facility well-maintained, but the cooler weather is just around the corner, and we are thankful! The horses’ winter coats are starting to come in, and the heat has made them extra uncomfortable. We’re also thankful that the growth of grass and other ground cover has slowed so that our mowing and trimming schedule is less intense.
Some small improvements continue at the ranch: we have some beautiful flags that we put up when we are having an event, and I’m not sure I’ve yet shared an image of the sign by our gate.
In program news, our September Horseplay for Leaders introductory program delivered for the executive team at Career Source Central Florida was a hit, and we are in talks for additional dates to bring more of their leaders into this program as well as others we are in the process of designing.
We are also in conversation with other organizations to offer these programs to them, too.
The PASOS grief support group continues to serve those who have lost a spouse or child to suicide.
The Yoga at the Ranch class series was a hit and we are working with a new yoga instructor to schedule upcoming classes series.
We are in the process of applying for a county grant to support our Horse Wisdom for Heroes pilot.
This month we hosted the Lake Nona Chamber of Commerce Professional Ladies Social at the ranch to network and to educate about breast cancer; we even had the Pink Heals fire truck on-site.
We also hosted Harmony’s Conservation Café event, and our event guest was Francine from Tampa Bay Bats, who did a lively and fun presentation on the mammals and brought some bat ambassadors.
And in the last month, we welcomed our very first sponsor! Kissimmee Valley Feed and Ranch hosts an annual raffle celebrating their business anniversary, and for this, their 30th year in business, they chose First Nature Foundation to celebrate and give back to. We were presented with a $500 check from the raffle proceeds plus an additional amount they donated.
Because it’s been such a stressful couple of years, we are now offering what we call Serenity Sessions, an hour-long time with a horse during which you can pet, groom, love on, and pour your heart out to the horse of your choice. Book one today!
We are tentatively scheduling our Grand Opening for early 2022 and will firm it up as we get closer, keeping an eye on COVID case numbers. Reminder: it’s an invitation-only event so let me know if you’d like to be included on the list.
Most of you have already visited the ranch, but perhaps not in a while and some improvements might have been made in the meantime, so please consider coming to see what the facility has to offer. Maybe you know any groups or experts who might want to run a program or two or hold an event there, especially now that we are starting to actually schedule them. We are willing to consider hosting events at the ranch, as long as there is alignment with our mission. I’d be happy to give you a private, individual, socially distanced tour. Please contact me at kerul@firstnaturefoundation.org or instant message me on Facebook to set up a time.
Take care and stay healthy!
Kerul and crew
Kerul Kassel, President
First Nature Ranch/First Nature Foundation