This month we asked each Zipponian to select a local charity or non profit that has meaning for them. So in the spirit of giving, if you’re planning to donate your time or money this November, support an organization that supports your community. Here are a few of our favorites:
The Lexington Humane Society is the largest pet adoption agency in Central Kentucky. They educate the community on responsible pet care and encourage compassionate treatment of animals. They also offer low cost spay/neuter services.
My girlfriend, Christine, is very involved with the Lexington Humane Society and it means a lot to her. 2/3 of our animals are from the Lexington Humane Society. I've volunteered there myself and I've gotten to experience what it is like behind the scenes a bit. Their employees and volunteers work extremely hard to keep the animals safe and loved and hopefully help them find a furever home. They have a program called, "Train-A-Bull" (TAB), where volunteers are assigned a pit bull to work with and train to make them more adoptable. There is a bad stigma associated with Pitbulls that I do not feel is accurate and the Lexington Humane Society works hard to find Pitbull and pit mixes a loving home.
Greenhouse17 provides an array of crisis intervention and stabilization services and is committed to nurturing lives harmed by abuse. Their main facility is on a 40-acre property which includes an emergency shelter and many other services - but also allows the adults living in the shelter a way to heal from trauma while participating on the farm for a small stipend.
I appreciate that this organization offers a non-traditional way for those who are staying in their shelter to heal through their 40-acre farm. They recognize that everyone heals differently and that being outside has it's benefits and can help many heal their mind and body through not only working on the farm, but eating the healthy foods they helped produce. They also offer services to help those affected by abuse to not only start a new life, but have the resources like budget and credit training and transportation services to set them up for success.
Central Kentucky Riding for Hope
Provides equine therapy to those with physical, intellectual, cognitive or social needs.
I've been around horses my entire life, with my dad being a thoroughbred trainer, and my wife is an Occupational Therapist who also has a degree in horses, humans and health. In college, she volunteered for CKRH to help special needs youth with hippotherapy. Her brother has autism, so helping those with special needs is near and dear to both of us, and CKHR has a great therapeutic riding program that really help improve the quality of life for those who need their services. The program is full of great people who love both horses, and helping people. - Andrew
Equine therapy is a wonderful way to assist people with special needs. I think some people can connect better with animals and this program is an outlet for that. They look at what a person needs and tailors a specific program to that individual. They recognize the need to help people with both physical and mental disabilities and help them live more enriching lives. - Nicole
Dress for Success empowers women to achieve economic independence by providing a network of support, professional attire and the development tools to help women thrive in work and in life.
By providing a strong network of professional individuals in the Lexington community who are willing to share their insights and experiences, Dress for Success Lexington helps women secure and maintain gainful employment. Poverty often affects women the most, and its effects on them and their families can be long-lasting. Therefore, addressing women’s needs is central to improving the quality of life for not only that woman but also her family, future generations and her community.
Mountain Association for Community Economic Development
Mountain Association for Community Economic Development provides resources for local small business in the Appalachian region of Kentucky through lending and technical assistance, collaborating on community projects, and pushing policy reform with the goal of economic development in struggling Kentucky communities.
We're only as strong as our weakest link, so I believe it's important to support economically struggling communities in our home state. Helping to build up local businesses is an important step in building back economies in these areas.
Arbor Youth Services provides safe alternatives for at-risk children, youth and their families through services and referrals that promote positive growth and development.
Arbor Youth is essentially a safe house for kids and young adults who are scared to go home, get kicked out or are removed from their home by police, CPS etc. They provide love and care for kids during a scary time in their lives, help them reconnect with their families if possible, continue their education, and help them find jobs and places to live.
Ronald McDonald House Charities
The mission of Ronald McDonald House Charities of the Bluegrass is to create and support programs that directly improve the health and well-being of children and to strengthen families by keeping them together in times of medical need.
The folks of our local RMHC give everything they have to keeping the families of the Bluegrass together through some, if not the most difficult times of their lives.
The Kentucky Dachshund Rescue is a non-profit organization dedicated to rescuing, caring for and finding forever homes for abandoned or surrendered dachshunds. Based just outside of Lexington in Georgetown, Kentucky, they work with and serve all of Kentucky, with volunteer fosters located throughout the state. They also provide medical care while their doxies are waiting to find their forever home.
A good friend of mine named Amanda is a foster for this group. She's always bringing sweet little doxies into her home to love on them and help instill the trust and basic healthcare they need prior to being adopted. I've followed her journey for years via Facebook, witnessing how her team makes a difference in the lives of little rescued doxies. It's easy to help by becoming a monthly donor. No matter how small, your donation helps provide food, medical care, spay/neuter, dentals, special surgeries, blood work, medicines and more to little doxies in need.
Dance Blue is a University of Kentucky student-run organization that fundraises year-round and culminates in a 24-hour no sitting, no sleeping dance marathon. All of the money raised through DanceBlue is donated to the Golden Matrix Fund, established to support the kids of the DanceBlue Kentucky Children’s Hospital Hematology/Oncology Clinic both today and well into the future through an endowment. DanceBlue also helps to provide funds to support research at the UK Markey Cancer Center.
I have personally lost a lot of family members to cancer. As a mother, I cannot imagine the pain of seeing a child suffer from cancer. I also have a lot of faith in UK as a hospital from personal experience. When I was a screenprint designer, I used to design the Dance Blue shirts for the students and children every year.
Provides year-round sports training and athletic competition for more than one million children and adults with intellectual disabilities.
I believe that everyone deserves to have equal opportunities and trainings, no matter their intellectual or financial abilities. Sports training helps improve physical fitness and motor skills, greater self-confidence, create a more positive self-image, friendships, and increases family support. Special Olympics athletes carry these benefits with them into their daily lives at home, in the classroom, on the job, and in the community. Families who participate become stronger as they learn a greater appreciation of their athlete’s talents.
Centerstone is a mental health organization that boasts being one of the nation’s largest not-for-profit providers of community-based mental health care, offering a full range of mental health services, substance abuse treatment and intellectual and developmental disabilities services in Kentucky.
Having lost friends to suicide; providing mental health services and suicide prevention services to people in crisis, as well as providing support to survivors is important to me. Centerstone provides mental health services including suicide prevention counseling for people in the Commonwealth of Kentucky.
NAMI (National Alliance on Mental Illness) offers support, education, and advocacy for those affected by mental illnesses.
Living with a mental illness can be overwhelming, hard to understand, and overall debilitating at times. NAMI Lexington gives people in our community an ear when they need to be heard, and a place where they are understood and accepted.
Junior Achievement's Purpose is to inspire and prepare young people to succeed in a global economy.
I believe there is a massive void in the education system when it comes to teaching our kids financial maturity. The financial decision you make as a young adult can dictate your entire life. This program helps to fill that lapse in education. We, as adults, need to prepare the next generation for a harsh reality. The world is run by money.