The Rotary Club of Lahaina Sunset has secured a $96,000 grant from the Rotary D5000 Foundation’s Maui Fires Relief Fund.
According to the Rotary Club, the funding will aid the Spirit Horse Ranch in Kula, which offers equine-assisted trauma therapy for adults and children who were affected by the Maui fires in August 2023.
Since the fires, the ranch reports to have provided 1,500 therapy sessions to foster healing, mental wellness and resilience through evidence-based, equine-assisted interventions and trauma support. The facility provides support through trauma and grief for children, adolescents, first responders and community members who have endured traumatic experiences from the crises on Maui. Sessions are offered free of charge and transportation is provided to the site.
The grant money will help sustain six months of these equine therapy sessions. The ranch has also received additional support from various agencies.
“Spirit Horse Ranch serves as sanctuary for retired horses to love and be loved,” Director Paige Deponte said in a news release. “Through the gentle wisdom of our horses, we offer a path to recovery that honors your pain and nurtures your strength. Horses reach into your soul, pull out the good and heal what isn’t.”
For more about the Rotary District 5000 Foundation Maui Fires Relief efforts, go to rotaryd5000foundation.org/.
