My Nonprofit Reviews

We love this organization! Making sports accessible to everyone is a crucial part of creating true community where everyone has a place and everyone belongs. As parents of a child with disabilities, Disabled Sports presents us with opportunities to see our kid out there, trying new things and gaining confidence. Thank you!

Our daughter, Julia, is learning how to speak up for herself and advocate for everyone who needs a bit of understanding and support. Thanks to all of the help and support and knowledge we all gain from Support for Families, our kid is seeing the world as richer, bigger and more compassionate. Julia is a kid with cerbral palsy, but that is secondary to the amazing things she has gained from this "difference" and to the incredible way she uses all the gifts Support for Families has given her.

We have a terrific kid named Julia. When we were told that Julia was a pre natal stroke survivor and thus would be a kid living with cerebral palsy, the world suddenly became a very scary place. Would we be able to find the right therapies, services, people to help us help Julia thrive?

Well, we were blessed indeed by lots of great people, opportunities and services. Among those, one of our very favorite places is the National Center for Equine Facilitated Therapy in Woodside, CA. NCEFT combines all of the best things; terrific and challenging physical and occupational therapies, amazing and gentle horses, and incredible people, all there to help people like Julia who need more than just participation in a physical activity. They need help to gain new abilities or rediscover those lost by illness or injury. At NCEFT, Julia has gained strength and balance and coordination and had the magical opportunity to spend time with some amazing horses and the people who care for them and train them. Julia also gets lots of extras like chatting with the staff and volunteers who, to a person, are remarkable and patient and kind. Julia has the chance to learn more about all of the animals, not just her own special horses. She even gets a ride after most lessons around the property with the executive director
himself! Talk about going that extra mile!

We feel that having a child with a disability has given us far more than it can ever take away. We value things differently, cherishing each milestone of development, each emerging burst of independence, because we have seen how difficult those victories can prove. Everyone at NCEFT understands this and works with Julia to keep growing and achieving and working toward success, riding high atop a beautiful horse. Nothing lifts the spirit of a special needs parent like seeing their child, taller than they ever imagined, stronger than they knew, sauntering along on one of earth's most beautiful creatures, with gifted and compassionate people right beside them, making certain they work hard, have fun and return to earth again safe and sound.

More Feedback

When you learn you are a parent of a child with a disability, everything changes. There are questions, concerns, fears, and stresses about all of the things you need to do to give your child the best possible opportunities in a world where nothing is familiar. Support for Families begins offering support and information the moment you contact them. It is a very difficult thing for most people to ask for help, but the staff and volunteers at Support for Families makes this easier, with a real understanding and compassion for parents thrust into a new world. With the parent, staff, and volunteer support, our family found great help, information, and skills to be the best advocates and champions for our daughter. We also have made some of the best friends we will ever know. Because of the many ways Support for Families has helped us, our new world is actually bigger, brighter, and more hopeful than we ever imagined. We would strongly encourage anyone with a question, concern or need about their child or loved one with a disability or special health care need to give them a call or an email!

More Feedback