"Healing Youth Building Lives through Success" is the mission statement of Hearland Girls Ranch. I have been involved with HGR since its beginnings and have seen many girls come through our doors. Girls come to us with situations in their lives that would be dificult for most adults to cope with. Many have been physically, emotionally or sexually abused. Many come from "parentless homes" being forced to care for their younger siblings. Some are runaways, escaping the drugs and abuse at home and then turning to gangs or prostituion to survive. The girls that come through the doors are hurting, mistrustful of adults and often angry.

I have witnessed HGR transform the lives of many of these girls. The support, nurturing , and guidance they receive; the opportunities to succeed through horse programming, goal work and many other activities helps to facilitate a change that turns hurting young girls into responsible young ladies. "Healthy nurtuing relationships", it can't be said enough on how important of a factor this is to healing in the lives of girls! The staff at the Ranch is committed to investing into the lives of the girls that come to us. It has been the foundation of HGR since day one.

HEARTLAND WILL BE REACHING OUT TO THE COMMUNITY WITH NEW PROGRAMMING: HOOFPRINTS OF HOPE

Heartland has seen the therapeutic power of horses in the lives of the residents since the ranch has opened. Heartland is excited to begin offering some of these services to the community through a new program called Hoofprints of Hope. Hoofprints of Hope will be based on the EAGALA model, pairing a mental health professional and an equine specialist to provide a unique therapy to address a wide variety of of issues, including but not limited to communication skills, anger, grief, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, body image and self esteem. Horses are the key component to this therapy. Horses are honest, communicate nonverbally and are very tuned in to our body language. Horses respond honestly and directly to how they are approached. This work is about the power of the horses to impact change.

Please consider donating to Heartland Girls Ranch to support programming for our girls and the community thru Hoofprints of Hope. Your donation will help us positively impact the lives of children and their families.

Sincerely,

Cynthia Terlouw

Executive Director

Heartland Girls Ranch