Echo Totes Support Team Velvet Charity Fundraiser

Team Velvet Inc. PRESS RELEASE for IMMEDIATE DISTRIBUTION submitted by Susan Edwards PhD, Psychologist/Director
Team Velvet Inc. a nonprofit organization providing equine mental health therapy for child trauma sedwardsnj@earthlink.net

Staff members from left to right:Program Volunteer Byron Weightman,
Lead therapy horse Velvet, Board Members Dr. Susan Edwards, President

and Dr. Kathy Piparo, Secretary; Therapy horse Precious; Peer Mentor
Christina Piparo with Therapy horse Little Ann

Raritan Township, NJ: Team Velvet Inc. is helping NJ prepare in advance of the May 4th deadline when the NJ Plastic Ban Law takes effect, single use plastic bags are prohibited in retail and groceries.
Team Velvet Inc. announces its fundraiser project refurbishing brightly colored regulation animal feed bags into multiple use shopping bags. Fitted with carrying handles, bags display portraits of horses,
farm animals, chickens or deer. A visual display of selected bags appears on the attached photo of the staff and therapy horses of Team Velvet, Inc.

Eco tote support bags can be obtained for a donation of $10 each via PayPal www.teamvelvet.com or via mail with a contribution made out to Team Velvet Inc., PO Box 268, Rocky Hill, NJ 08553 which includes mailing address to send eco bag.

High quality feed bags reformulated into multiple use shopping bags support the environment as well as Team Velvet Inc. charity which provides free equine mental health therapy for children ages 6-12 who have experienced traumatic loss. For more information see website www.teamvelvet.com or contact Dr. Susan Edwards, Psychologist/Director at 609 924 4330.

Girl Scouts Honor National Child Mental Health Day with Team Velvet Inc.

Raritan, New Jersey: As part of the build-up to National Children's Mental Health Day May 7 Flemington Girl Scout Troop #82304 visited the child therapy horse facility of Team Velvet Inc. which provides clinical equine mental health services for traumatized children ages 5-12 at no fee to families.
 

The Scouts toured the facility, met Board of Directors Secretary Dr. Kathy Piparo, Psychologist/Director Dr. Susan Edwards and Peer Mentor Christina Piparo and had the opportunity to ask questions about how horse therapy helps child trauma. They also met therapy horses Velvet, Precious and Little Annie and enjoyed playing an interactive game of Horse Ball.
 

"We were pleased to host this troop of intelligent, energetic girls whose compassion for helping others was very impressive," Dr. Edwards said. "Profound loss and tragedy can strike anyone at any time, and the heart power of therapy horses combined with psychological science can make a difference in both mental health and quality of life."

"Ours is an all-volunteer program," Edwards explained, "totally funded by grants and donations. No one is paid. For each Angel Benefactor donation of $3,000 we move closer to our goal of establishing a permanent horse therapy farm home for child mental health. Covid has increased the rate of anxiety and depression among youngsters and stress has spiked in pediatric suicidality in ways seldom previously seen.

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We are grateful for contributions and gifts of any size which can also be mailed to:
Team Velvet Inc., PO Box 268, Rocky Hill, NJ 08553."
 

Anyone interested in referring a child, obtaining more information about this unique program or making a PayPal donation can go to www.teamvelvet.com or contact Dr. Edwards directly at 609-924-4330.

Dear Friends,

The child who drew this figure was one of my first clients--a sad-eyed, tearful, bright  5 year old who looked at me and asked, "Dr. Susan, why would someone want to kill someone?"  

      The child had witnessed violence against a loved one -- an attempted murder -- and was trying to understand it.  I thought a moment. Then I said, "I'd like you to draw a heart." The child did.  Then I said, "Now, I'd like you to think of it as  your heart and draw how much love you have inside."

     The child colored in the whole heart red. 

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     "Now," I said, "I'd like you to draw another heart and this time it will be the heart of someone who hurts pets. Color it in with the amount of love that person would have."  The child thought a minute and drew the heart filled with much less red.

     "And this time," I said, "draw another heart. Inside this heart put how much love would be in the heart of someone who would try to kill someone [who loves them]."  The child drew very little.

     "How does someone get more love in their heart?"  the child asked.  And that began the beginning of our work together, a chapter of which is included in my workbook Children Are Treasures: A Workbook for Strengthening Self-Esteem in Children Ages 5-12.

     Since Team Velvet Inc. was founded in 2009, we have helped children transcend profound traumatic loss of many different forms. Our clinical horse therapy involves a multi-modal, non-mounted psychology model custom designed to heal sadness and loss and strengthen individual resiliency and understanding.  The horses provide a source of amazing love and psychology provides the art and science of emotional healing. 

     Our Board of Directors is composed of three psychologists [Tom Ferguson,PhD,MBA; Jennifer WestGavin, PsyD, Neuropsychologist, and Susan Edwards, PhD] and one PhD Researcher [Kathy Piparo, PhD.], all of whom support the work of our charity to provide services to trauma children ages 5-12 without fee -- FREE. 

    In order to do this, we need to establish sustainability which comes from grants and donations.  As all of our staff are volunteers, no one is paid -- not even the psychologists.  A child's therapy may take a year or more and progress is measured based on the goals identified by the family who accompanies the child working with the psychologist, therapy horse, and sometimes involves a peer helper or horse handler. We have helped children as young as eight who, after experiencing profound trauma, wanted to die.  Trauma involves intense emotional pain and loss. 

     Involved in this treatment process are  three specially-trained

therapy horses, each offering a different healing gift. We  have also 

custom developed materials to help kids -- a coloring book about

the death of a father, a self-esteem workbook, four videos which

have won national awards, and a current project to establish a

child mental health legacy by having a farm donated to our

charity and a website with horse-narrated videos for helping

children learn to help themselves.

     We are very grateful for donations of any amount which are used

to fund this important mental health work for children.  This year, as

part of our Christmas in July Fund Drive, we striving to establish a NETWORK of ANGEL BENEFACTORS to help us establish ongoing sustainability.  Angel Benefactors are individuals who donate $3,000 to help us sustain these special services for a most vulnerable population.

     Child trauma can affect any child and has no racial, ethnic or social status boundaries.  Team Velvet Inc. is very appreciative of all gifts. 

        Please share our fund drive information with another special person who may wish to give a gift  to help us help kids live happy.

      Sincerely,

 Susan Edwards PhD

      Psychologist/Director
      President of the Board

Click the button below if you would like to donate here or via mail to Team Velvet Inc., PO 268, Rocky Hill, NJ 08553. All donations to our charity are tax deductible.

All  contributions help.