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Wednesday, June 09, 2010
By Phil Dunn
PILESGROVE TWP. - Children form the Salem County Center for Autism got a
chance to ride with Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Kevin Kolb during a
equine therapy session at Raise Your Dreams Farm Tuesday.
The NFL star visited the Pilesgrove farm and rode with dozens of excited
kids.
"I understand in my position and the blessings that I have had that I
can make an impact on kids," said Kolb. "These guys here, they battle
with certain things and anything to put a smile on any kid's face I'm
ready and willing to do it."
Kolb spent two hours riding with the kids. Some of the activities turned
into a race with many of the children wanting to beat the starting
quarterback.
Ross Galey, 12, of Pennsville, immediately took to
Kolb and raced him every chance he got.
"I'm a huge Eagles fan. Go Eagles!," he said.
Jill Mansor, the owner and operator of Raise Your Dreams Farm, was full
of energy as well as she led the horses the children were riding. Mansor
planned a number of different activities for the kids to partake in with
Kolb.
"This enables the kids to meet someone most people don't get a chance to
meet or ride with," said Mansor. "We don't usually have famous people
here, but we welcome the opportunity and thank the Eagles organization
for lending him to us."
Kolb was brought to Salem County by way of the executive director of
the Salem County Center for Autism making contact with the Eagles
Television Network (ETN).
"We contacted them on a Wednesday and by Friday we were sitting down to
talk about how we could make this happen," said Dan Galey.
The Salem County Center for Autism serves as the premier resource for
residents of Salem County allowing children and their families to find
answers and support, as well as relief from the stress and confusion
that comes from a diagnosis of an autism spectrum disorder (ASD).
The Salem County Center for Autism services include behavioral
therapy, nutrition, counseling, and equine therapy.
Mansor said it is a joy to work with the children and it's awe
inspiring to see them progress as horseback riders.
"It's almost addictive once you do it and you see how much the
children progress and grow and get encouraged and have a sense of pride
in what they are doing," she said.
A producer for ETN, Joe Helder, was on hand Tuesday evening taking
footage for a special that will air on the network.
"We try to get our players out into the community for causes like the
Salem County Center for Autism whenever we can," said Helder. "They are
a non-profit agency and (we want to do) anything we can do to help out
whether it's raising awareness or money."
Helder said Kolb was on board with the idea from the beginning.
"He has a huge heart and when I told him about it he was like, I'm
there," said Helder. "It's about making him more human, more
approachable to the kids."
Kolb said he likes to do events like this because they are more hands
on and he can spend some time with the kids.
"You can really connect with a kid more when you are able to have fun
with them and get up on the horse and ride with them," said Kolb. "I'd
rather get personal with them so we can visit a little bit and have some
fun."
Article & Images
featured as part of the Front Page of Today's Sunbeam Wednesday, June
09, 2010.
Individual article, copied excerpt of front page, for the interest of
the Members & Affiliates of The Salem County Center for Autism
source:
http://media.nj.com/salem_impact/other/Sunbeam%20June%209.pdf
