Today we’d like to introduce you to Ann Henderson.
Hi Ann, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
Many years ago, in a very profound dream God showed me a blue horse arena w/a silver star, he then whispered in my ear “Rainbow of Hope”. In 2012, God used Jack, my husband to bring us to this exact location. We decided it was time to move to the country! We hopped on our motorcycles one Sunday afternoon and this was the first property he took us to. As soon as we rolled up on our bikes and I saw the blue horse arena with a silver star, the hair stood up on the back of my neck and arms! I knew in that exact moment we were meant to live here. We started out as a boarding facility for horses six years ago in 2016. Over time people have surrendered their horses to us. We have 14 horses on our property, six of them can be used for therapy. In 2020, I was working at a call center down the road from our ranch and they changed my schedule for hundredth time. I was leaning back in my chair, and I heard God say, ” When are you going to start trusting me?” I knew it was time to start building “Rainbow of Hope”. I started out with two students, Jonathan & Abel. We were working on basic horse care; I was teaching life skills and social skills to them. Shortly thereafter, two former colleagues saw what I was doing on Facebook and asked if they could come help me. It was during the pandemic Rainbow of Hope was starting to develop. We would go on nature walks, field trips, teach art, gardening and so much more!
Fast forward to 2022, We are a 501c3 and operate only by donations. To date, I have never charged any family that comes to Rainbow of Hope. Our Mission is to enhance and empower the lives of our young adults with autism and other abilities through the healing power of horses, life skills and social skills. Now, we have an amazing “Activities Coordinator, Annette Owen” who plans out all our activities and teaches the lessons each week. We are also partnering with “Harvest for the Hungry” where they are building a 4k sq. ft Education Center with classrooms and a commercial kitchen! This was another answer to my prayers! (I forgot to mention my husband depleted his retirement savings to turn a room in our barn into a classroom) and we are currently busting out of the seams in it, the room is just not big enough!
As of recently, we will soon be partnering with another nonprofit called “True to Life Ministries” where they too have classrooms but in addition to that they also have a boutique in Lake Jackson called “Refresh” where they teach job skills to young adults transitioning from Highschool to the real world. This is still in the early stages of development, but as of now, we plan to transport our students there on Mondays to teach job skills at the boutique. We are super excited for this new component to the program!
Lastly, our Equine Program! We have the facility, the horses, the volunteer & rider packets ready to go it’s just a matter of making sure we do things with excellence and accuracy! We need a PATH Riding Instructor to facilitate the program. Individuals with this certification are hard to find. We currently have a riding Instructor that teaches private lessons and is amazing! We just have to get the process started of her getting PATH Certified which takes a good 12 months and is costly, about $1,200.
We are grateful that God has brought us this far! Operating this Organization is extremely costly. We need Corporate Sponsors, Scholarships for our riders, Sponsors for our horses and so much more. But we know that God is faithful! Look how far he has brought us!
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
There are so many struggles I don’t even know where to begin! I guess we would start early on when we moved here in 2012. We were approved for a USDA loan so we could buy the whole property, then right at the last minute right before closing they decided they did not want to finance the arena and barn. So that part of the land, the arena and barn sold to a businessman. Which was then leased out to two guys that had 14 horses. It was during that time that God was using them to teach me about horses, I forgot to mention I knew absolutely nothing about horses. The main struggles that come to mind are Physical, Financial and Weather related. After the guys moved, we had the opportunity to lease that side of the land. We then were about to embark on a journey filled with multiple trials and challenges.
We now had the responsibility of taking care of horses every single day. Shoveling manure, bagging hay, changing water buckets, mowing pastures and the list goes on. We realized the life we once knew was over and this was our reality. We have faced extreme heat, extreme cold, extreme flooding, mosquitos & mud over the years. We survived hurricane Harvey and the great freeze, where temperatures got down to single digits and we had to sleep in our van because we had lost power for several days. We have wanted to give up on this journey so many times, but God gives us the strength to keep going. We have struggled financially since day 1 of moving here. Not only do we have our mortgage, but we are also responsible to pay for the land, arena and barn that we started leasing 6 years ago. Jack and I have made sacrifices and been obedient to God’s instructions because we know that God is FAITHFUL.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
My role at Rainbow of Hope is Executive Director. My main function is to ensure that the program is being developed just as God has instructed me. Also, to ensure that every person he brings to the Rainbow Family is here to further the mission of Rainbow of Hope Texas. My gift is working one on one with the students, as a former Applied Behavior Analysis Therapist, I learned many skills that I now bring to the table at Rainbow of Hope. I think I am known for my faithfulness to God’s Promise to me and his rainbow. Many people have been following this Rainbow Journey for many years, even before we moved to the country. I am most proud of my husband for believing in my God-given dream and not giving up over the years. What sets us apart from others is that there are no programs in our area that are designed for the special need community, specifically autism. That focus on teaching life skills, job skills, creating entrepreneurs and horsemanship.
Any big plans?
I would love to model Rainbow of Hope Texas after Brookwood Community in Brookshire. Where they have a cafe, pottery classes, horticulture and a church. I believe as the program grows and more people learn about Rainbow of Hope we will be able to accomplish those goals. But for now, we are just trying to survive. It’s difficult to think about a 5-year plan when you’re in the current moment of day-to-day and building the program one day at a time.
Pricing:
- Sponsor a rider for 1 yr $3,800
- Sponsor a Therapy Horse $4,800
- Donate Feed, Hay, Tack, Saddles
- Donate any amount to our organization
Contact Info:
- Website: www.Rainbowofhopetexas.org
- Instagram: rainbow_of_hope_texas2022
- Facebook: Rainbow of Hope Texas
- Youtube: https://www.utube.com/channel/UCJUU513nbrLmz6WRYGkrPPw
Image Credits
Christy White photography
