May News

Welcome to the Farm….

The family of Storybook keeps on growing! We are so excited to introduce you to our fabulous, enthusiastic and incredibly talented summer intern, Sara Weeks! She is asenior, journalism major at Auburn University and plans to pursue a career in public relations. Sara has worked hard to keep our community up-to-date on all of our happenings via Facebook, our website, email, and now Tumblr, Flickr, and even Twitter! Thank you Sara, for keeping us current!

We are also pleased to welcome Mrs. Potts, a 16 year old Welsh Cross Horse. After a career in eventing and tea serving, Mrs. Potts came to Storybook Farm from East Georgia. Her cheery disposition has brought a new song to the barn at Storybook and she has already built friendships with some of our riders. What a great pony!

Bridges of Faith Ministry visit

Our dear friends from Bridges of Faith ministry returned with a new group of orphans visiting from the Ukraine. The group consisted of 12 Ukrainian orphans accompanied by their loving American hosts. Not only did God bless their time here with beautiful weather, but everyone at Storybook Farm was blessed by the bright smiles and new friendships made. Along with a tour of the farm, they also enjoyed learning how to groom horses, craft time, horseback riding and a delicious lunch from Chick-Fil-A.

East Alabama Veterinary Medical Association Dinner

Storybook Farm was happy to host the dinner for our wonderful friends from the East Alabama Veterinary Medical Association. We would like to especially thank Dr. Blue Brawner from Petvet, for taking care of our small four legged friends at the farm. Although our horses are super important, we cannot forget about the cats, dogs, Thumper - the sweetest bunny ever and our cute guinea pigs. We are so grateful that we were able to share our story, give tours, meet and greet the farm animals, and enjoy a beautiful evening at Storybook. We hope to see you all again soon!

Volunteers – Ready, Train, Summer Sessions!

The end of May we began volunteer training for summer sessions. We welcomed back a few old volunteers and met several new faces to Storybook. We are grateful for their time and effort to bring hope on horseback to our summer riders. We hosted 35 riders this summer and we able to minister to a few new faces.

May 31^st marked our first day of sessions for the summer. Our riders got to solve a mystery with Sherlock Holmes We look forward to a wonderful summer of new friends and new adventures!

Kentucky Derby Days 2011

The evening could not have been more perfect. Gentlemen and beautiful ladies, adorned with extravagant hats gradually, strolled up the driveway. They were greeted with smiles, and guided through a small tent and over a little bridge to the festivities. While dinner was served, many guests wandered through the barn, where our silent auction was displayed, bidding on marvelous trinkets, paintings and certificates.

The guests enjoyed a nice meal prepared by Outback Steakhouse and Terra Cotta Café and irresistible desserts by Arricia. Julie Gribble entertained with her soft traditional country music. When everyone was seated, Jorg Wesche, a dear friend of Storybook, welcomed the guests and introduced our extraordinary speaker, Jay Jacobs. Testimonies were shared of the wonderful experiences at Storybook and a poignant video flashed pictures of children that have received “hope on horseback.”

When hearts were warm, the live auction began! The auctioneer, Don Green, went a mile a minute and amused us, moving us to give and raise our paddles for the greater cause. As the night went on, the numbers multiplied far more than we could ever imagine as these amazing individuals and corporations threw up their hands in love and excitement.

There are no words to express the gratitude we feel for each heart that participated in our Kentucky Derby Days dinner. Our sponsors, volunteers and our 280 delightful guests exceeded our expectations. Through tickets sells and our silent auction we raised 1/3 of our annual operating funds.  With the generous support from our donors we were given the opportunity to continue to bring hope to children facing unimaginable circumstances. Thank you for believing in our ministry. We are honored that you are a part of our story.