Broomfield Heights eighth-grader Tori Hector and her mother, Kate (positioned to the left), connect with JA Finance Park Associate Lilla Newton. Junior Achievement received a BCF Grant under the Education grant category.

Broomfield Heights 8th Graders attend Denver - located JA Finance Park

JA Finance Park is a part of the JA Financial Literacy Pathway and JA Work and Career Readiness Pathway and is recommended for middle and high school students (grades 7–9). JA Finance Park is Junior Achievement’s capstone program for personal financial planning and career exploration.

This program, comprising a curriculum and a simulation, helps students build a foundation to make intelligent financial decisions that last a lifetime, including decisions related to income, expenses, savings, and credit. Students are conceptualizing what it will take to live independently – housing, utilities, car loans and payments, health, car, homeowner’s insurance, food, entertainment, travel, and 401K. To learn more about grade-level programming, which started in elementary school classrooms, visit https://www.jarockymountain.org/programs.

Nonprofit Grantees Transform Lives Across our City and County

The Sunny Horse Foundation is a non-profit organization located at 4131 Creek Drive, Broomfield, CO 80023. They offer equine-assisted therapy (EAT) programs that promote health and healing. The Foundation specializes in providing equine-assisted learning for veterans and active military personnel in the metro Denver area.

Their programs are based on the Spanish California/Nevada tradition and provide hands-on interaction with horses. The Foundation never charges any fee to participants.

One of the main benefits of equine therapy is that it targets the symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), which is a

common result of military service. During equine-assisted therapy (EAT), participants experience positive outcomes such as:

• Decreased feelings of isolation

• Self-efficacy and self-esteem building

• Reductions in anxiety

• Increased confidence

• Trust development

• Self-acceptance

• Decreases in depression symptoms

• Improved management of stress

Besides the human-focused outcomes, the Sunny Horse Foundation also provides support for abandoned, mistreated unwanted, or distressed horses.

Thanks to a grant from BCF donors, the Sunny Horse Foundation can provide approximately twelve participants with 28 hours of equine-assisted learning activities. If you want to know more about the Sunny Horse Foundation, you can visit their digital

presence here.

*For more on style of horse training visit https://www.history.com/news/mexican-vaquero-american-cowboy.