RARITAN TWP., N.J. — Team Velvet, Inc. is offering unique, virtual Valentines greetings from a talking horse.
For a nominal donation, one of Team Velvet’s three therapy horses — Velvet, Precious and Little Annie will deliver a customized message to the recipient via video. The donor can have the horse of their choice send words of kindness and encouragement to children. These video horse valentines can send messages of love to grandparents, parents, boyfriends, girlfriends and spouses or send a thank you to teachers or first responders or check in with someone the sender hasn’t seen in a while.
The therapy horses are also featured in colorable Valentines that can be downloaded from the Fun Stuff For Kids page at www.teamvelvet.com. Print, color, cut and send.
Due to the pandemic, all in-person fundraising events have been canceled. Team Velvet, Inc. has continued to pursue its mission by going virtual. The organization has produced several short videos, two of which won national awards at the EQUUS Film Festival in 2018 and 2020. Videos including Letters to Velvet, Helping Kids Cope with the stress caused by COVID-19 and a general information video about non-mounted equine mental health therapy called Small Horse, Big Medicine are available for viewing on the website without cost.
Funds raised from the Valentines from Velvet fundraiser will go toward supporting the work of the charity as well as funding the next video project designed to help children overcome nightmares and fear of the dark. The Covid pandemic has resulted in increased stress-related disorders of childhood including anxiety, depression and sleep disturbance.
To order Valentines go to https://teamvelvet.
About Team Velvet: Each day there is a child who experiences the death of a loved one, is a witness to violence, is victimized by crime or intense bullying, is disfigured by an accident, or experiences countless other events — all resulting in severe childhood trauma. If left unaddressed, in the extreme, child trauma may cause flashbacks, blackouts, and may result in severe damage. Team Velvet, Inc.[609 924 4330] provides multi-modal horse therapy for traumatized children ages 5 to 12 years with psychologist Dr. Susan Edwards. Therapy horses may be involved in interactive games, kick a soccer ball, dance or be taught liberty performance. Children do not ride the horses; they interact while working toward goals of increased self-esteem and resiliency.
–Lillian Shupe, Team Velvet
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