CORRAL Riding Academy Finishes Purchase of New Farm
Cary, NC – After holding their largest fundraiser almost a year ago, CORRAL Riding Academy has finalized the purchase of a new farm and permanent home for the girls non-profit.
Starbuck, one of the horses at CORRAL Riding Academy.
Giving Stability
CORRAL Riding Academy is known in the area for working with local girls in high-risk situations, whether related to poverty, abuse or other factors. The non-profit then focuses on getting these girls into college through mentorship and tutoring, in addition to providing mental and emotional health support through horse-assisted therapy.
Now, the group has a 10-acre farm on Kildaire Farm Road, which Executive Director Joy Currey said will provide the organization stability and longevity.
“It’s an opportunity for us to expand,” Currey said. “Without a definite home, you can’t put down permanent roots.”
In March 2016, CORRAL raised $1 million in three months, dubbed their “Million Dollar Miracle” Currey said that allowed them to start planning for the non-profit’s growth.
“The Board of Directors put aside a 10-year plan where we will quadruple our capacity,” Currey said. “Where before we were serving 20 girls a year, now we will serve 80 girls annually.”
Currey said in the near future, there is a plan to double capacity in the next two years.
How to Keep Going
As CORRAL settles into its new home, Currey said there are plans to grow the organization through satellite farms.
“This Cary location would still be where we do training but we would also have smaller units in the Triangle and maybe even beyond,” Currey said. “The pipe dream is to train similar organizations from all around, not just in the state.”
On Saturday, June 3, 2017, CORRAL will officially unveil their new sign and fence and Currey said they are inviting the community to take part in it.
“We’re grateful to the Cary community with how they have wrapped their arms around the program,” she said. “And not so much the support they’ve given CORRAL but the support they have given these girls.”
CORRAL’s upcoming Derby Dinner fundraiser is Friday, May 5, 2017 at Talley Student Union at NC State University.
Story by Michael Papich. Photos courtesy of CORRAL Riding Academy.
The headline scared me. At first I thought it was saying the riding academy was closing. Maybe something line, “CORRAL Riding Academy Purchases New Farm”, would have been more to the point.