WINDRUSH FARM EVENT SHOWCASES PERKINS SCHOOL FOR THE BLIND AND SPAULDING REHABILITATION HOSPITAL
Windrush Farm was proud to honor Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital and Perkins School for the Blind on Thursday, May 9. The event took place at the Nelson Mullins Riley and Scarborough, LLC offices at One Post Office Square in Boston.
Nearly forty guests attended the reception that included hors d’oeuvres and beverages and an award presentation to Spaulding Rehabilitation and Perkins School for the Blind in honor of their partnership with the farm. Windrush Farm board member, Amy Mandragouras and her firm, Nelson Mullins sponsored the event with wine provided by Kappy’s Liquors.
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The Spaulding Rehabilitation Network is a recognized leader in rehabilitative medicine in Eastern Massachusetts, in the United States, and across the globe offering world-class inpatient and outpatient care. Spaulding started at Windrush Farm in 2011 as part of their adaptive sports program giving patients a chance to get out of the hospital, socialize with each other, learn new things, and experience the healing power of horses.
“Spaulding Rehab presents the Windrush instructors with an exciting opportunity to collaborate with their therapists to provide therapeutic riding activities that support the therapy goals of their clients while providing a fun, recreational experience,” shares Windrush program director, Jenna Nowosacki.
Sheila Radziewicz, a motivational speaker and participant at Windrush Farm through Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital knows what it’s like to overcome adversity. “Growing up with a disability, when you go to do an activity you get a certain response that is not necessarily positive. And when I was connecting with Windrush Farm I didn’t get that. It’s an amazing feeling to be able to go into an environment and get completely equal treatment just like everybody else in the room. And that doesn’t always happen for individuals who have disabilities. And this has been that,” as she explained at the event.
Perkins School for the Blind in Watertown, provides education and services for children and adults around the world who are blind, deafblind or visually impaired. In the spring of 1984, three teachers and eight students form the Perkins School for the Blind Lower school program began a now, twenty-nine year partnership at Windrush Farm.
“From a teaching standpoint, we can clearly see the overlap between what the students are working on in their school setting and what happens at the farm,” explains Perkin’s teacher Rocky Tomascoff. “The same physical, cognitive, and emotional skill areas are being addressed but just within a different environment.”
At Windrush Farm the goal is to help people with a broad range and combination of disabilities to excel. Partnering with the horse, Windrush’s programs are designed to encourage, challenge and motivate their clients.
Executive Director, Amanda Hogan says the horses do amazing things for individuals with disabilities. “Our belief is that we are all capable of more than we think. We want to challenge everybody, both physically and emotionally, to do more than they think they can,” says Hogan.
For nearly 50 years, Windrush Farm has been helping tens of thousands of clients realize this. “Both Perkins School for the Blind and Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital are prime examples of this,” says Hogan. “We’re delighted to celebrate our partnership.”