The Barn at Spring Brook Farm in the borough of West Chester is dedicated to helping children with disabilities by connecting them to gentle farm animals
Jeanette Corgnati is the executive director of the nonprofit and she says that children who face physical, cognitive or developmental disabilities are encouraged to feed, groom and walk the animals.
These interactions allow the children to work on non-verbal, verbal and motor skills which helps give them confidence thanks to the bond they make with the animals.
“These are activities of daily living that you and I take for granted. But they need help and practice and this is a great place to do that,” one mom, Jen Eynon, said.
The barn began as a dream of Mary Beth Drobish in 2005 when she turned her land into a fully handicap-accessible facility as way to merge her love for animals and children.
The 17 acre farm is home to 18 animals including Sicilian donkeys, miniature horses, pot belly pigs and more who have each been chosen for their gentle demeanor.
For their efforts, the farm was awarded $20,000 from the NBCUniversal Local Impact Grants.
The money will go towards the volunteers, programming and scholarships for families who cannot afford their help.
“I think that we all need to remember that as a community we raise each other up, we help each other grow and we do a lot more when we were supporting one another,” Corgnatti said.
For more information on the NBCUniversal Local Impact Grants, visit localimpactgrants.com and the Spanish-language becasdeimpactolocal.com, and follow on social @NBCUFoundation and #LocalImpactGrants.
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