Illinois Children’s Healthcare Foundation awards Equine Dreams $100,000
September 2017
Equine Dreams is pleased to announce that it is the recipient of a $100,000 grant from the Illinois Children’s Healthcare Foundation. The funds will be used towards a program expansion to purchase a life size Therapeutic Horse Simulator that will work to improve the quality of life and build resilience in children with disabilities through Equine Assisted Activities. Funds will also go toward building a climate controlled room for the simulator. The project will seek to improve and sustain physical, cognitive, behavioral/mental health and/or social skills of children with disabilities in the underserved rural areas in Illinois by providing year-round therapeutic Equine Assisted Activities on a life-size, equine simulator. “Our heartfelt thanks go out to the Illinois Children’s Healthcare Foundation for their support of our mission to nurture abilities in individuals with special needs. We appreciate their confidence in our ability to provide a unique and beneficial service to this community.” said Windy Kopecky, Board Member and Head Instructor for Equine Dreams.
About the Illinois Children’s Healthcare Foundation
The Illinois Children's Healthcare Foundation (ILCHF) has a single vision: to ensure every child in Illinois has the opportunity to grow up healthy. Working through grantee partners across the state, the Foundation focuses its grant making on identifying and funding solutions to the barriers that prevent children from accessing the ongoing health care they need. The Foundation's philosophy is that health care must address the whole child. They focus their current grant making in two high needs areas in children's health: Improving oral health of Illinois' children and addressing the mental health needs of children in Illinois. ILCHF also designates each year a portion of its grant making dollars for those opportunities that are innovative programs or emerging needs in children's health care in the state of Illinois. For more information on ILCHF, visit their website at: http://www.ilchf.org/aboutilchf.html.
Grants
Yorkville Knights of Columbus awards funds to Equine Dreams
January 2024
The God’s Divine Mercy Council #14463 of the Knights of Columbus in Yorkville donated $3,100 to Equine Dreams. The funds came from the Knights’ annual tootsie roll fundraiser. Equine Dreams is beyond grateful and blessed to have the continued support of the Knights.
The Knights of Columbus was officially chartered in 1882 as a fraternal benefit society. Their founding principles are charity, unity, patriotism and fraternity. Social and intellectual fellowship is promoted among members and their families through educational, charitable, religious, social welfare, war relief and public relief works. The Knights of Columbus have grown from several members in one council to over 14,000 councils and 1.8 million members throughout the United States, Canada, the Philippines, Mexico, Poland, the Dominican Republic, Panama, Bahamas, the Virgin Islands, Cuba, Guatemala, Guam and Saipan. For more information, please visit their website at www.KofCYorkville.org.
Home Depot Foundation awards $10,426 to Equine Dreams
May 2023
THANK YOU to the Home Depot Foundation for awarding our program a very generous grant to go towards the build out of a new tack room and office area, which included not only materials but a work crew to do the work! Are we lucky or what?? This grant was a part of Home Depot's Local Volunteer Project, which is a Nationwide “Celebration of Service” Campaign for improving the Homes and Lives of Veterans. We are so grateful for their support of our mission to improve the lives of children and adults with special needs, veterans and their families.
Community Foundation of the Fox River Valley
awards funding to Equine Dreams
June 25, 2022
"Equine Dreams is beyond grateful to receive a much-needed Equipment Grant from the Community Foundation of the Fox River Valley. This grant will be fully matched for a vital piece of farm machinery needed to aid in the feed and care of our horses and upkeep of our grounds, ensuring our future success and cost effectiveness to operate our charitable programs. We are so humbled and thankful for their continued support over the years. Together, our staff, volunteers, and participants would like to extend our deepest gratitude and thank you for this support!" - Rick Mason, CEO
About the Community Foundation of the Fox River Valley
The mission of the Community Foundation of the Fox River Valley is to provide effective and rewarding ways for donors to fulfill their philanthropic objectives. Grants are awarded to support the work of nonprofits within their service area in the categories of Arts and Humanities, Education, Health Care and Social Services. For more information, visit www.cffiv.org.
Duly Health and Care Charitable Fund donates to Equine Dreams through their Your Cause Grant Program
June 2022
Equine Dreams was blessed to have been nominated not once, but twice, by employees to receive a total of $1000. We feel so very thankful for this support of our mission.
Duly Health and Care’s Charitable Fund invests in solutions that improve the health of our communities. Together with their nonprofit partners, they collaborate to address the social needs and risk factors that impact health beyond their clinic doors.
YEP awards $1,350 grant to support Equine Dreams
May 2023
Equine Dreams wishes to express its sincere appreciation to the Dekalb County Community Foundation Youth Engaged in Philanthropy (YEP) committee for its recent grant of $1,350. The funds will go towards purchasing sand for their outdoor riding arena as part of their ongoing arena renovation. “Equine Dreams is grateful to receive this funding from YEP. They provide much needed assistance to local charities that serve youth in DeKalb County, and we are blessed to have their support of our mission,” said Windy Kopecky, Board Member and PATH Intl. CTRI.
About Youth Engaged in Philanthropy (YEP)
YEP is a youth-led committee of the DeKalb County Community Foundation. Members learn about non-profits, philanthropy, and grantmaking. Through the YEP Grants Program, the committee supports organizations and projects that improve the quality of life for youth in DeKalb County, IL. For more information, visit dekalbccf.org/yep.
Northwestern Medicine KishHealth donates to Equine Dreams
Jan 2023
Equine Dreams would like to express its heartfelt appreciation to Northwestern Medicine for their recent $500 grant. The funds will go toward the feed and care of our therapy horses. “We are so grateful to Northwestern Medicine for their support over the years of our mission to nurture abilities” stated Windy Kopecky, Board Secretary and PATH, Intl. CTRI.
About the Northwestern Medicine Community Grant Program
Northwestern Medicine Healthcare is a growing, nationally recognized health system that provides
access to world-class care at more than 100 locations, including its 11 hospitals throughout Chicago, it’s
North and West suburbs and Northern Illinois, one patient at a time. Northwestern Medicine provides
financial support to organizations that are working to address identified community health priorities. For
more information, visit https://www.nm.org/about-us/community-initiatives/community-donations-and-grants
WALMART donates to Equine Dreams
March 2023
Equine Dreams would like to express its sincere gratitude to Walmart for its recent grant of $1,000. The funds will go toward the feed and care of their therapy horses. “We are so grateful to Walmart for their continued support of our mission and the support they show to all local charities in this area,” Windy Kopecky, Board Secretary and PATH Intl. CTRI.
About Walmart
Walmart Inc. helps people around the world save money and live better - anytime and anywhere - in retail stores, online, and through their mobile devices. Each week, nearly 275 million customers and members visit our more than 11,300 stores under 58 banners in 27 countries and eCommerce websites. With fiscal year 2019 revenue of 514.4 billion, Walmart employs over 2.2 million associates worldwide. Walmart continues to be a leader in sustainability, corporate philanthropy, and employment opportunity. Additional information about Walmart can be found by visiting http://corporate.walmart.com.
Community Foundation of the Fox River Valley awards funding to Equine Dreams through their Youth Engagement in Philanthropy Program
June 8, 2022
Equine Dreams would like to express its sincere appreciation to the Youth Engaged in Philanthropy program of the Community Foundation of the Fox River Valley for their recent grant of $2181. “Equine Dreams is beyond grateful for the YEP grant. Having the support of the youth at the Community Foundation of the Fox River Valley means we will be able to purchase a therapy horse training pen. This purchase will enable us to do inclusive training with our horses and their students, cultivating abilities and kinesthetic-learning opportunities as a direct result. With this generous grant, we successfully met the funding needs to pursue this endeavor, and we are beyond thankful for their support of our mission to faithfully nurture abilities”, Rick Mason, CEO
About the Community Foundation of the Fox River Valley YEP Program
Youth Engagement in Philanthropy (YEP) was created to help local high school students explore and learn more about fundraising, grantmaking and making a difference in the community. The Community Foundation of the Fox River Valley wanted to find a way to empower the next generation by providing the opportunity for youth to fund ideas which impact and inspire their community.
For more information, visit www.cffrv.org.
Andrew and Alice Fischer Charitable Trust awards funding to Equine Dreams
December 2023
Equine Dreams would like to express its heartfelt appreciation to the Andrew and Alice Fischer Charitable Trust for their recent grant of $5,000 which will go towards general operating expenses. “We feel very fortunate to receive this funding and are blessed to have their ongoing support of our mission. Their support will help change the lives of those we serve” stated Windy Kopecky, Board Secretary and PATH, Intl. CTRI.
About the Andrew and Alice Fischer Charitable Trust
The Trust’s primary focus is to provide funding towards education for physically, emotionally,
financially and/or developmentally challenged individuals, as well as support for programs benefitting
children, senior citizens and U.S. Veterans.
DeKalb County Community Foundation awards funding to Equine Dreams
May 2023
Equine Dreams would like to express its sincere gratitude to the DeKalb County Community Foundation for their generous $15,000 Community Needs Grant. This funding will be used to renovate and replace their outdoor arena, replacing existing fencing with sustainable PVC material. “This grant is so very appreciated and allows us to make vital updates to our outdoor arena, helping us in all our programs. We are so thankful for the Community Foundation’s continued support of our mission,” Rick Mason, CEO and PATH CTRI.
About the Dekalb County Community Foundation
The DeKalb County Community Foundation’s mission is to enhance the quality of lives in DeKalb County by proactively addressing community needs and expanding, managing, distributing philanthropic resources. For more information, visit dekalbccf.org
