When golfers hit the links for the 26th annual Kiwanis Golf Outing July 25 they won't just be sinking putts, they'll be helping children.
The Kiwanis Club of Greater Lawrence pumped more than $32,000 into kids' charities in Andover and neighboring communities last year, and one-quarter of this money was raised at the group's annual $200-a-golfer outing.
The money supports reading programs for kindergarteners, a middle school leadership summit and academic competition, and a scholarship for one high school student each month, among other efforts.
But no organization benefits more than the Challenge Unlimited therapy program at Ironstone Farm, 450 Lowell St. in Andover. The program uses horse riding as therapy for people with physical, cognitive and emotional disabilities. Kiwanis pays for kids' horse-riding therapy that improves their walking, strength, social skills and self confidence.
"Kiwanis has sponsored children with disabilities in our programs for more than a decade with money from its golf tournament and other fundraisers," said Ironstone Executive Director Deedee O'Brien. "Some sponsorship funding has supported children in Early Intervention - the 1- to 3-year-olds."
Andover's Ben Bonelli, who will turn 7 in September, began riding horses at Ironstone when he was 2. He has delayed development, and his mother, Suzanne, credits the program with improving his life on many levels.
"It's been amazing for him and the other kids. He didn't talk a lot. He was virtually non-verbal. When he'd get on the horse, he'd be laughing and the words would come - especially in the group lesson," said Bonelli, of Center Street. "I see children with severe autism - when they get on the horse, they smile, which is huge."
Bonelli said the program helps kids on the autism spectrum to interact with other people.
"Many are not good with 'touching,' but they hug the horse," said Bonelli. "They're such gentle creatures, it just brings that out in them."
Because horses have a similar gait to humans, she also credits the therapy with helping to straighten out Ben's leg, and with improving his muscle tone. Many other parents have similar praise.
"It was all-around - socially, with his speech; physically, with his strength. And he loved it. Apart from that, he was so happy," said Bonelli.
In January, however, Ben was one of several children whose insurance stopped covering the therapy. Other children lose funding from the government once they turn 3, "a critical stage of their development," said O'Brien.
Ben is involved with other programs now, including a summer swimming exercise. But, for autistic children who are not being actively engaged his mother believes "if they're not having intense therapy, they do take a step back. To not go, they are going backwards," Bonelli said.
O'Brien said some of the Kiwanis donation will go to help kids who otherwise might not have a program.
"They were receiving therapy and had to stop because of losing funding. Thanks to Kiwanis we will be able to continue them and they will receive valuable intervention at a critical time of their lives," said O'Brien, who herself joined Kiwanis in 2000.
In addition to helping Ironstone, the golf outing also brings together area businesses that can help each other and the community in other ways, said golf outing organizer and Kiwanis member Jef Kalil.
"I am born in Lawrence, raised in Methuen. I do have an affinity for the community," he said. "If you have the right combination of players, you start injecting some new innovation to the area."
Businesses sponsor holes to make the event a success, he said. Without this, the event could not raise enough to give Ironstone the $10,000 a year it will receive as the club's focus charity. Previous focus charities were the Boys and Girls Club of Lawrence and the Lawrence YMCA.
The money for Ironstone pays for 50 children with behaviorial disorders from the School for Exceptional Studies in Lawrence to ride. Kiwanis also sponsors an Andover 10-year-old who recently lost her mother to cancer.
"The level of (Kiwanis) support is directly related to the participation of the community in these events. We at Ironstone watch the progress of the golf tournament as it develops throughout the spring and see its success directly impacting the numbers of children we can help. How good is that?" said O'Brien.
Challenge Unlimited is one of several local programs that receive money from Kiwanis (see chart).
Kiwanis assists some different groups each year. Last year, it helped Andover Youth Services with its skate park and this year it has given $500 to the Andover-based Trauma Intervention Program to help it respond to children who have been affected by a death or other trauma.
The writer is a member of Kiwanis.
Get in the swing: Sign up for golf
The Kiwanis Club of Greater Lawrence will hold its 26th Annual Kiwanis Golf Outing Fundraiser at the Indian Ridge Country Club off Lovejoy Road in Andover with a shotgun start at 1 p.m. on Monday, July 25. People interested in participating in the $200-per-player event can register online at GolfDayforKids.com.
Since 1924 The Kiwanis Club of Greater Lawrence has been a group of community leaders whose permanent goal is to help children improve the quality of their lives. For more information call Jef Kalil, tournament chairman, at 978-494-6332 or email him at jef.kalil@gmail.com.
ABOUT CHALLENGE UNLIMITED
Ironstone Farm serves nearly 500 people per week, year round thanks to both indoor and outdoor facilities. Last year, 1,047 different people rode horses there. While riders come from 90 cities and towns throughout Massachusetts and New Hampshire, about 30 percent come from Andover itself.
Employing horses in a working farm environment, Challenge Unlimited at Ironstone Farm provides therapy for people with disabilities. The two primary programs are Challenge Unlimited and Ironstone Therapy, which are said to use "the horse's ability to enhance a person's movements and touch a person's heart, inspiring strength, hope and encouragement." The farm's staff of over 20 licensed instructors and therapists work with 35 program horses and 150 volunteers.
Source: Ironstone Farm
