Continuously serving Kosciusko County since 1854
Not only did the 10 Magical Meadows “Rockathon Fundraising Showdown” volunteers raise over their goal of $100,000 Thursday, but they did it about 1-1/2 hours before the fundraiser was scheduled to end.
Each of the participants volunteered to rock in rocking chairs at The Magical Meadows from noon to midnight or until they raised $10,000, whichever came first, for a total of $100,000. Many of the volunteers stayed even after they raised their individual $10,000 goal to support the others.
All funds raised go toward building an East barn, a dedicated riding arena for veterans and first responders. This building project aims to enhance and expand the Warriors Mount Up program, which is designed to help veterans and first responders work through the stressors and trauma they live with on a daily basis.
The Magical Meadows Executive Director Michael Kuhn was entering and processing all the cash donations and checks Friday afternoon to get a final tally.
“It was over $101,000,” he said, noting it was “almost exactly 10:30 p.m.” when they hit the $100,000 mark. “We’re feeling great about it. We set out with a goal and we knew it was a pretty big goal, but we’re just ecstatic to see it come to fruition, and that’s credit to all the people who participated and raised those funds. All the people who donated. We give credit to God, too, because we know we wouldn’t have been able to do it without him.”
The participants in Thursday’s fundraiser included Kosciusko County Sheriff Jim Smith, Prosecutor Brad Voelz, Turkey Creek Fire Territory Chief Mickey Scott, Warsaw Police Department Capt. Paul Heaton; Lutheran EMS, Pierceton Fire Department and military veteran Carla Quintero; Kuhn, Magical Meadows founder Tammy Stackhouse, Board Chairman Carl Adams, Board member Keith Reinholt and Zimmer Biomet employee and volunteer Melissa Lewis.
Kuhn said each one of arenas they want to build will probably cost between $800,000 to $900,000 when it’s all said and done. So Thursday’s fundraiser raised about a tenth of the cost for the veterans and first responders arena.
“The nice part is, though, we’ve also got matching funds, so every dollar that was donated yesterday is going to be matched by an anonymous donor. So, that’s extra special there,” he said. “And then as far as our total budget for the capital campaign, that’s $2 million. I need to do some figuring to figure out exactly where we’re at, but we should be at about $1.1 million if you include all the pledges and matching funds as if they were already received. So that’s where we’re at as far as secured funds go.”
The new veterans/first responders arena is one of two new buildings that will be constructed potentially this year as part of the nonprofit’s Growing with Heart Capital Campaign. The east arena will boast 14,000 square feet and will consist of a large dirt floor riding arena, a lounge room, accessible restrooms, stalls for horses, a tack room and storage for veterinary supplies and materials, according to a previously provided news release.
The west arena will have the same dimensions as the east facility, but its focus will be on serving individuals with disabilities and expanding the capacities of the nonprofit’s legacy therapeutic horseback riding programs. The west arena will also include a spacious observation room for families and caregivers of the riders, accessible restrooms, a tack room and storage space.
As far as the capital campaign goes, Kuhn said they don’t have any other fundraisers planned, but they’ll be doing more and are always asking people to donate toward that and support that effort.
Donations can still be given to either the organization for general funds for operations through the website at themagicalmeadows.org/donate; or specifically to the capital campaign at themagicalmeadows.org/growingwithheart.
As far as other events, The Magical Meadows, 3386 E. CR 525N, Warsaw, has two coming up in the next six weeks.
A Pistons & Ponies Cruise-In is scheduled for 4 to 7 p.m. Aug. 23. It’s for cars, trucks and bikes. Kuhn said any money they raise from that will go toward their Warriors Mount Up operational and programming expenses since they don’t charge any fees for that.
The Cowboy Canter 5K Fun Run is Sept. 20. Registration begins at 8:30 a.m. with the race starting promptly at 10 a.m., beginning at The Magical Meadows.
More information on both of the events can be found on The Magical Meadows’ Facebook page.
“We continue to be amazed by the generosity and support of this community. We’ve still got a lot of big goals and have a ways to go before we’re able to meet the needs of this community in a way that we know we can. So, we just want people to continue to rally behind what we’re trying to do here and invite them to be a part of it because this is going to be transformational for our community,” Kuhn concluded.
