Come cool off at our annual SUMMER SPLASH!

Summer Splash will take place on Saturday, August 9th from 12 to 3pm right here at The Barn at Spring Brook Farm! A donation of $5 per child is GREATLY appreciated. To make a tax-deductible donation, scan the QR code below or click here! No need to RSVP.

We are looking for volunteers to help with set up, parking, crafts, activities, and clean up. If you are available and interested in volunteering at this socialization event, email us at volunteer@springbrook-farm.org or click here!

Join us for fall activities and fun our annual AUTUMN FEST!

Donation of $5 per child is greatly appreciated & can be made by visiting https://SpringBrook-Farm-Autumn-Fest

We are always looking for volunteers to help with set up, parking, crafts, activities, and clean up. If you are available and interested in volunteering, email us at volunteer@springbrook-farm.org.

 

Thanks to all who joined us for a fun day!  We welcomed lots of new families and enjoyed seeing familiar faces. We have a wonderful Barn community!!  We are looking forward to a fun summer!  

 

We are always looking for volunteers to help with set up, parking, crafts, activities, and clean up. If you are available and interested in volunteering, email us at volunteer@springbrook-farm.org.

Join us for The Barn at Spring Brook Farm’s

2024 HOE DOWN Fundraising Event

in support of The Barn’s mission to enrich the developmental skills and lives of children with disabilities through animal-assisted and nature-based experiences!

Presenting Sponsor: $20,000 (only 1 available)
• Admission & reserved table for 10
• Name/logo on invitation
• Name/logo displayed on event signage
• Acknowledgment in the Hoe Down Program
• Opportunity to address guests at the event
• Name/logo and link on The Barn’s website

Platinum: $10,000
• Admission & reserved table for 10
• Name/logo on invitation
• Name/logo displayed on event signage
• Acknowledgment in the Hoe Down Program
• Name/logo and link on The Barn’s website

Gold: $5,000
• Admission for 8
• Name/logo on invitation
• Name/logo displayed on event signage
• Acknowledgment in the Hoe Down Program
• Name/logo and link on The Barn’s website

Silver: $2,500
• Admission for 6
• Name/logo on invitation
• Name/logo displayed on event signage
• Acknowledgment in the Hoe Down Program
• Name/logo on The Barn’s website

Bronze: $1,000
• Admission for 4
• Name on invitation
• Acknowledgment in the Hoe Down Program
• Name/logo on The Barn’s website

Friend of The Barn: $500
• Admission for 2
• Acknowledgment in the Hoe Down Program
• Name/logo on The Barn’s website

The deadline for inclusion on Hoe Down fundraiser event program and signage by August 21, 2024 – Please send all logos in .JPG or .JPEG format, to [email protected]

Sponsors with guest admission*, please send your guests’ names and contact information (full name and email addresses) to [email protected] as soon as possible.

*Note, your sponsorship level admissions include yourself (sponsor) (i.e. If you are a Bronze sponsor, you get 4 admissions to the Hoe Down event, so including yourself, you are allowed 3 more guests)

Ticket sales are closed. We look forward to seeing everyone this Saturday!

To donate or sponsor the 2024 Hoe Down Fundraising Event, go to www.givebutter.com/TheBarn-HoeDown or click here. 

 

 

Please join us for a WinterFest Celebration at The Garage Community & Youth Center in Kennett Square

Sunday, December 8th, from 9:30 am to 11:30 am!

There will be sweet treats to decorate, arts and crafts and hot cocoa to keep us warm!

Santa and Elsa will be making an appearance and have kindly requested that attendees bring in winter essentials like hats, gloves, scarves, socks, and blankets to be donated to both parents and students in need at The Garage Community and Youth Center in the spirit of the holiday season!

Space is limited to please RSVP  by clicking this link.

Thank you so much to First Bank Charitable Foundation for awarding The Barn at Spring Brook Farm with this generous grant, which will go towards providing children with disabilities, life-changing opportunities!

Barn representatives, Andrea Marine Abernethy (Executive Director) and Chris Guldin (Facilities Manager) are pictured here receiving the award.

Thank you First Bank!

Thank you so much to First Resource Bank and representative Sharon Sharpe for directing some of their Educational Improvement Tax Credit (EITC) funds our way! This generous donation will go toward the wonderful programs we offer to children with disabilities.

Barn representatives, Andrea Marine Abernethy (Executive Director), Chris Guldin (Facilities Manager), Raichel Barzilay (Program Manager), Dreamer (star program worker and mini-horse) and Board members Sharon Cichocki and Mingo Stroeber enjoyed showing off our incredible facility and getting to know more about the bank’s great work in the community!

To learn how your business can donate to EITC-approved organizations and receive 75% of your donation as a tax credit, visit here.

At the start of the new year, The Barn welcomed 5 new friends! Beezus, Ramona, Thyme, Echo and Bay are part of a 3-generation Nubian goat family from Point Lookout Garden and Farm Life, a non-profit located in Wilmington, DE. Point Lookout Garden and Farm Life started in 2009 by the late Phyllis Wyeth, and has focused over the years in providing a green space, organic vegetables and an educational experience surrounding animal husbandry to youth, including the Boys and Girls Clubs of Delaware. We are so excited to have these cuties as part of The Barn at Spring Brook Farm’s programs this year. Be sure to say hi to the crew the next time you visit!

Group5

Pictured from left to right: Echo, Thyme, Beezus, Ramona and Bay

Trio1

Pictured from left to right: Ramona, Bay (mom and son), and Thyme (cousins with Bay)

Thyme4

Thyme being silly and sticking out his tongue!

Echo1

Here is Echo, who looks almost identical to her mom Beezus (below)

Beezus3

Nan Sharon and Friars at Sweet Charity_2 (1)

Board President, Sharon Cichocki, and Executive Director, Nan Latona, are joined by assorted vegetables from West Chester University of PA on March 28th at the Sweet Charity fundraiser benefiting the Chester County Community Foundation.

Dear Friends,

I hope this email finds you and your family safe and well. All of us at The Barn have been very busy the last three months reconfiguring our programs, developing comprehensive protocols to keep our children, families, volunteers and staff safe, and planning for the future amid vast uncertainly. Who could have imagined the degree to which the world has changed in the last three months?!

I’m writing today to let you know more in detail how we have responded and continue to respond to the COVID-19 crisis, especially now that we’ve entered the “green” phase.

As you’re probably aware, The Barn suspended its Individual Programs and Camp Geronimo. Our annual Spring Fundraiser was held virtually, and staff have been primarily working from home with the exception of Mr. Chris, our Facilities Manager.

We are currently running several no-cost virtual programs that are open to anyone who wishes to participate:

This Monday, June 29, we will finally be welcoming children back to The Barn!  Family Barn Visits are currently open only to our already-engaged families, but we anticipate enrolling new families in this program very soon. Each day one child/household unit under the direct supervision of at least one adult household member will be coached (from a safe distance of 6′) to participate in animal-assisted and outdoor activities.

We are also piloting a virtual Special Summer Session the week of August 3. This program will be limited to 16 children and delivered daily via Zoom so they can see and interact with each other. Each day will feature different activities such as games, music therapy, animal yoga, dance and crafts. Participating children will receive an activity box filled with everything they need to engage in the week’s activities.

(It is possible that Family Barn Visits and Special Sessions will be repeated into the fall provided social distancing restrictions are still in place.)

Save the date for our annual Hoe Down: Saturday, October, 17! This significant fundraising event will look a bit different this year, but be prepared for lots of (safe) fun, festivity and surprises! More information about the Hoe Down is coming soon!

We couldn’t have accomplished all that we did in such a short period of time without the help of several Temple University occupational therapy students assisting with our programs, as well as the diligence of University of Pennsylvania nurse practitioner students who worked tirelessly to create our comprehensive Communicable Disease Policy for Staff, Volunteers, and Participants which is serving as our primary reference resource to aid us in navigating our work at The Barn. (Please note: the link to our policy was recently removed due to ongoing recommendations for best practices requiring our need to continually make updates. Please contact me if you would like the most up-to-date information about The Barn’s Communicable Disease Policy for Staff, Volunteers, and Participants at [email protected].)

Our detailed protocols include:

Moving forward, we will continue to monitor the guidelines and recommendations from the CDC, the Governor’s office, the Chester County Health Department, and other local and national experts and modify our programs and operations as needed to remain as safe as possible.

We look forward to growing the level of connection that makes our Barn community so special. Your encouragement, support, and patience are so appreciated at this time and we truly hope to see you soon!

With warmest regards,

Nan Latona