A New Beginning, A Love that Endures

 Jacob Noah Beachy

After eight years as part of The Red Thread Promise, which recently closed, Jacob’s Fund is now a stand-alone nonprofit  501(c)3, providing financial assistance to children with developmental impairments who would benefit from physical, occupational, or speech therapy, particularly through hippotherapy, in order to improve their quality of life.

Jacob’s Fund honors Jacob Noah Beachy, who died July 21, 2007.  Jacob was exactly thirty-eight months old that day.  He’d undergone open heart surgery to correct some of the heart defects with which he was born.  This was his fourth surgery and he was recovering well when an antibiotic-resistant infection took his life.

We, Jacob’s family, were heartbroken. His all-too-short life had a deep and lasting impact on our lives and hearts.  As we stumbled around in the fog of grief, our hearts were moved to share the love and generosity that was so much a part of Jacob.  

Along with Jacob’s heart conditions came some developmental delays. His doctor prescribed hippotherapy – that is, physical, occupational, and speech therapy using the horse as the delivery method. 

Jacob’s advances as a result of hippotherapy at McKenna Farms in Dallas, Georgia, were breathtaking! He began to walk and then run, his gross and fine motor skills improved dramatically, and his speech skills and vocabulary grew by leaps and bounds. 

What better way to honor Jacob’s loving spirit than by providing hippotherapy and therapeutic riding to other little ones?  Many children who would benefit greatly from equine therapy will never receive it because their families cannot afford the costs associated with it, which is seldom covered by insurance.

Thus, Jacob’s Fund was born. And we found we were not alone in our desire to help children live their best possible lives. Many others have united with us to provide the financial support for their hippotherapy and therapeutic riding.

Since then, we’ve been fortunate to have come to know many kids and their families who are thriving, just as Jacob did, as a result of hippotherapy and therapeutic riding and to share their stories.

And that's what we'll be doing on this blog.

  

Colvin 

 

                             Eden                                                       Harper-Lynn

Kyle

Thanks to The Red Thread Promise, we've been able to continue our support of these little ones through the smooth transition to Jacob’s Fund.  Please take a look at these children, who benefit from Jacob’s Fund’s rotating scholarship at McKenna Farms and at Hilltop Equestrian Center in West Alexandria, Ohio.  We’ll share more about them soon.

If you, too,would like to see disabled children reach their potential - talking, walking, laughing and enjoying their families and their lives, we welcome your donation. Our address is 1630 Tipperary Drive, Middletown, Ohio 45042-3875.