Kootenai County Blooms with Generosity

Flowers burst from their baskets in a kaleidoscope of color on the warm, spring afternoon of Friday, May 10th. EMBRACE staff hurried to customers who came to pick up their pre-ordered arrangements, and packed more than a dozen flower baskets into horse trailers and the backs of cars to deliver across counties.

After it was all said and done, the members of Kootenai and Spokane county donated more than $1,810 by purchasing flower baskets from EMBRACE Equine Ministry.

Every year since its inception, our non-profit ministry has partnered with the VanWingerden Greenhouse in Spirit Lake, Idaho to provide the most beautiful, and affordable, arrangements. Every penny from this annual fundraiser, and every other donation received, goes directly back into the ministry to provide things like insurance, helmets, craft supplies, horse session tools, and staff training.

EMBRACE equine ministry is both directed and operated by volunteers, which means—at this time—no one receives a paycheck. Just as we rely on the grace of God and the financial donations of the community, each volunteer depends on the donations of one another’s time and resources to make sessions happen multiple times a week.

As a mobile ministry, staff travel more than 1,000 miles every month to provide services at our various locations. So far, in 2019, we’ve begun holding sessions three times a week, and we’ve partnered with Children’s Village in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho to provide monthly sessions for the children in emergency foster care. All free of charge. All run entirely by volunteers who love sharing the love of Jesus.

We can’t thank the community enough for your generous support during our flower basket fundraiser. In June we’re hosting a horse day-camp fundraiser for children ages 7-12. If you know someone who’d like to participate—contact us! If you’d like to make any future donations, you can do so on our website under the “Donate” tab or send us a check in the mail at PO Box 313 Hayden, ID 83835.

Want to read more? Sign up for our monthly newsletter on our website and get a horse training tip from our horse session leaders, see pictures from our sessions and more!