Community members far and wide saddled up for Carousel Ranch’s annual “Heart of the West” fundraising event on Aug. 29 – celebrating 30 years of the fun-filled fundraiser.
Taylor Adachi, executive director at Carousel Ranch, said it was heartwarming to see the community rally behind the organization.
“Everyone that night was being so generous and just the energy in the room was crazy. People were having a really great time,” Adachi said. She added that some students from the nonprofit’s Ready-to-Work program were able to present working in different ways as well.
Adachi said she remembers when the event drew only 300 guests, but witnessing the growth and how it has evolved over the years is special to see.
“I love that we also get to see new faces and then new people that just want to jump in and get involved. It’s so moving. I mean to see individuals who feel so passionate about our causes as well,” Adachi said. “It’s been an amazing journey, and I’m really excited to see the people believe in what we’re doing, and they want to help us, so we can help our students.”
This year’s fundraiser hit over $600,000, and Adachi said the organization’s leaders were floored — it was their best year yet.
Proceeds from the fundraiser directly help the organization’s operating budget – which helps the horses, the programs, and the developmentally disabled students they serve through therapy on horseback as well as Ready-to-Work.
“Whenever I get to interact with our students and just talk with their families, that makes everything: the good days, the bad days (it) makes it all worth it,” Adachi said.
Adachi emphasized that putting on the event helps bring awareness to the organization, but it brings opportunities to the students.
“I think a lot of times, different businesses have some reservations about hiring an individual special needs, but we have had several stories that were shared that night of what success looks like and how a lot of our students are thriving, and some of them are doing fantastic in our job. We just had to figure out (where is) the right placement,” Adachi said.
