Minnetonka Mom Reaches Out to Youth with Horses
Vollie Heitkamp began Hope Rides in 2006, a free program that uses the interaction between humans and horses to help youth build self-confidence.
| Kathy Borowick of Stacy, Minn. has taken care of more than 300 foster children over the past 11 years, many of whom have a history of violence and a familiarity with correctional institutions. "There's not a whole lot for them to be thankful for at this point in their lives," Borowick said. But thanks to Minnetonka mom, Vollie Heitkamp, five of the foster children in Borowick's care were able to experience a program that has humbled even the toughest of kids: Hope Rides. "It's just a blessing," Borowick said. Hope Rides is a non-profit organization that uses the interaction between humans and horses to help youth build self-confidence while developing important life skills. It was all started by Heitkamp in 2006. "It's 100 percent about providing a place where you can sit across from a kid, or stand side-by-side, brushing a horse, grooming a horse, that the kid will start to open up," Heitkamp said. "It's a trust relationship, and that's when the opportunity for mentorship comes into place." More than 150 kids took advantage of that opportunity last year. Heitkamp, who has been involved with horses for most of her life, says she spends up to 12 hours a week working with the horses and kids at sites in Stacy and Mayer, and that she "took a step of faith" in starting Hope Rides. "I want them to see more for their lives, for this to affect their lives," she said. For Kathy Borowick and the foster children she sent to horse camp, Hope Rides did just that. She spoke specifically about one kid who went through the program. "One of them has spent a lot of time over the last five years in residential facilities, correctional facilities," Borowick said. "But every time I see him, he always brings up that year that he was in that horse program. And when he comes to visit, his first question is 'Can we go back to where I went to horse camp?' "He's made some real connections there and it's just one of the few positive things that the kid has going on in his life," she said. Heitkamp provides Hope Rides programs at no cost. The only requirement for children (aside from certain age restrictions) is that they have the desire to be there. "When the kids learn the skills to make a 1,200 pound horse cooperate, it provides empowerment and respect to the child," Heitkamp said. Traits that serve as important tools in life. Borowick calls the program a blessing. "I will send kids there every chance I get," she said. |
For more information, go to www.HopeRides.org
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