Board members Tara Reyda and Claire Tomassini at 5K Fundraiser and Bills Basket raffle for Centaur Stride.

I can’t even Imagine going to work, doing what I was expected to do, going home and leaving everything about work at the door when I leave, and then receiving a steady paycheck and whatever benefits go along with that job.

For many, this is reality, with no thought or idea of anything different. But for the entrepreneur, small business owner, self-employed, or management, it is anything but!

And it is even more challenging for the not-for-profit, often having to operate without steady cash flow or loans.

It isn’t any wonder that most small businesses close after a short time. Some give it a year or two, investing time, lots of effort and money without return, hoping by the three-year rule, things will start to be in the black. Or maybe they are even lucky enough to start with government grants.

Only one in three new therapeutic riding centers makes it past the three-year mark, and of those, only one in five makes it past the five-year mark. Grants are not usually available during the first three years of operation, and grants usually do not cover operating expenses. And if reliant on grants, what happens if they suddenly stop, a problem many not-for-profits are presently experiencing!

Approximately 50% of small businesses survive five years or more. The survival rate drops to about 33% after 10 years. (Chautauqua County Internet Data).

How did Centaur Stride originate and why?

Centaur Stride was founded in 1993 as a not-for-profit therapeutic riding center, to fill a need to help people with disabilities improve the quality of their lives. Other counties had this service, but Chautauqua County did not.

Working with children with special needs in school settings, I had firsthand knowledge of what was lacking. In addition, my teenage son, not yet identified with special needs, was not outgoing enough to fit into any peer groups.

The lack of social inclusion, physical movement and activities that included people with disabilities and the loneliness and isolation for my son and many of the children I saw for physical therapy was heartbreaking.

Centaur Stride started slowly with my financial backing, not to make money, but to offer a solution to a problem that did not pose a problem to the general public and included a strategy to address my son’s needs. The business details, organization, program development and fundraising were the efforts of a group of close friends, forming the original Board of Directors. It took nearly three years of groundwork and development before obtaining our not-for-profit status and the doors were finally opened. By then, my son was 17.

It often takes entrepreneurs and visionaries to be the catalyst for change, and those with personal attachment fight the hardest for that change.

Centaur Stride has no paid administrative staff, with all that responsibility falling on the working and volunteer Board of Directors. Starting with only one paid instructor, the programs have grown over the years to now include three part-time paid instructors, one assistant, and a barn manager. All administrative work is still done on a volunteer basis and overseen by the Board of Directors. Volunteers and donations were and still are the main reason we didn’t fall into the statistics for closing and allow us to focus more of our energy on our mission rather than critical financial needs.

Back to the “Business Side of Things” and the need behind our services: our mission is to provide services to the people who need them. We have not yet reached a stage where we can offer free unlimited scholarships, but despite that, we have kept our fees as low as we can, much below the actual cost of services, so that more people can afford to reap the benefits. Occasionally, we get a grant to be able to provide a free program to targeted populations for a limited time. Donations and fundraising are key to keeping them after the grant funds are exhausted.

Our programs are integrated for people with and without disabilities, and are structured for wellness physically, mentally and socially. Participants with disabilities still have very few choices for activities that provide inclusion, integration and wellness, and some participants have been coming for many years.

Our latest Program offered is called “Volunteer Transitions,” an opportunity for people with disabilities to gain volunteer experience with a structured and supervised program, currently sponsored by the Westfield Fund.

Current fundraisers are the Summer Basket Raffle, drawing July 19 at our Open House. Baskets are featured on our Facebook page. Tickets for the Angola on the Beach Week-end Vacation House Raffle will be sold at the Westfield Arts & Crafts Festival July 25 and 26, with the drawing at the end of the show on Saturday or contact us at (716) 326-4318. Thank you for your support! https//linktr.ee/centaurstride.

Please help us to keep helping others. Gift certificates are available. Thank you for supporting small businesses and not-for-profits in our community!

Claudia Monroe is co-founder and President of Centaur Stride.