Our visit on May 19th was our first in rain with thunder…and the girls were rock stars.  The wonderful

staff and residents were happy to see us and welcomed both Merciful Mini volunteers and Molly and Mercy with open arms.  We hope to be regulars here!

Saturday, May 13th was a beautiful sunny day and perfect for our visit to Lexington Independent Living folks for a lecture with visual aids (the mini girls) on what it takes to be a therapy mini horse.  The men and women were a delightful audience who had great questions and were truly interested.  We met some great people who talked about their horses that graced their lives.  Thank you to the Blinn family and all the rest of our fabulous ladies and gentlemen who make this possible.

May 7, 2017

On a beautiful spring day, our team of Merciful Minis was honored to participate in an exposition honoring our Veterans. Hosted in the Orland Park Civic Center, Molly and Mercy proudly greeted veterans, families, and guests as they walked through the building filled with military memorabilia and displays.

People of all ages were excited to meet the minis. Some visitors were thrilled to be able to groom the horses, others were interested in hearing more about our therapy work and the preparation needed prior to each visit.

Once again Molly and Mercy proved to all that they are exceptional Ambassadors of Goodwill. We are thrilled to be working in partnership with our growing number of Handler Team volunteers, proving once again, that people serving people, can do extraordinary things with a team of big hearted, tiny hooved horses.

Follow our blog as next week we visit a retirement center in Oak Brook.

It has been many years since my family and I visited Holy Family Villa.  Many years ago my mom’s cousin was a sister/nun there (Sister Gabriel).  In addition to visiting the home, many summer days were spent in the picnic grove with family and friends.  So happy my mom was able to join us on this visit and has recovered so that she can be part of our Merciful Mini team!  Once again the smiles of the clients warms the heart and soul.  It is such an honor and pleasure to be able to bring the girls out on visits.

The girls and their “crew” were back on the road with the first Spring visit at Elim Adult Services in Crestwood on Friday, May 7th.  Elim is a wonderful day school for developmentally delayed adults that is staffed with a kind and caring staff that is dedicated to helping the students have a full life.  We can’t say enough about what a warm and caring place Elim is.  It was an honor to visit with Molly and Mercy.  The smiles that we saw from students and staff alike were heartwarming.  One of our volunteers, a retired special education teacher, was surprised to see one of her former junior high school students and was able to say hello.  The sun was shining both outside and inside the building during this visit.

Winter is a great time for the minis to train and learn new ways to interact with people and situations, especially our babies, Hawk and Luna Rey.  All for minis are very fuzzy in the winter so indoor visits might be difficult for them (they could get too warm).  Training time is used almost every day to keep it fresh and teach the baby boys all they will need to pass their Pet Partner tests (hopefully) in the summer.  In order for a mini horse to test they must be at least a year old.  Additionally, we want them to be ready for their new jobs…so training can’t be rushed.  For now, just enjoy the pictures of winter minis!

We were recently asked why we would venture out in single digit cold to bring the mini girls out for a visit.  It is difficult to keep the little girls clean in this weather and little Molly thought better of the idea to load into the cold trailer.  So why then?  The smiles.

Saturday, January 7th it was cold in Chicagoland and we were scheduled to go to Providence Rehabilitation in Palos Heights, IL.  We were expecting about 25 participants, but when we arrived we had about 50 when you include generations (children and grandchildren of residents).  WOW!!!!!  The warm welcome and smiles made it all worth the effort to brave the cold.  So many smiles and laughter from young and old.  So many pictures and memories made.

Providence gave us such a warm welcome and what a great facility.  We vistied in the chapel which was the perfect location for the group.  Our Merciful Mini team of Pat, Martha, MariJayne, Chris, Becky, Dayanna, Arturo, Mike and Laura and of course our mini stars, Molly and Mercy work together for a successful visit.

Looking forward to returning in the spring.

 

 

 

 

Thank you to our videographer Elise who took these photos and compiled them into a video.  When you want to see what we do, watch the event from 12/28/16.  Thank you Elise who is not only a high school student and a published author (yes on Amazon) but a film maker too!

Today was an awesome visit to Park Lawn in Crestwood.  We were so fortunate that the warm weather earlier in the week melted the snow around the trailer and we were able to visit this facility for  developmentally delayed adults.  The smiles said it all.  The gentle pets and interest in the girls was heartwarming.  We look forward to returning in the Spring!

On Monday, November 14th we were honored to visit KB House in Burr Ridge with Molly and Mercy as well as our crew of helpers.  We visited a small group of residents on a beautiful fall day.  The laughter, joy and overall excitement of the residents was amazing.  the staff at KB were warm and welcoming and so happy to have us.  An amazing visit!