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PATH Intl. Awarded Grant from Department of Veterans Affairs

The Professional Association of Therapeutic Horsemanship International (PATH Intl.) is honored to announce its status as one of 69 grant awardees from the United States Department of Veteran’s Affairs to support disabled veterans in adaptive sports. Secretary of Veterans Affairs Robert A. McDonald announced the award of approximately $8 million in grants to provide adaptive sports opportunities for an estimated 10,000 wounded veterans and service personnel of the Armed Forces. Over 170 applications requesting $42,000,000 were submitted.

PATH Intl. was awarded $100,000 for the period of Oct. 1, 2014, to Sept. 30, 2015. Funds will benefit an estimated 1,500 deserving veterans as a result of their direct participation in equine-assisted activities and therapies at PATH Intl. Premier Accredited Centers. An application and guidelines for PATH Intl. Premier Accredited Centers will be available at the end of October. Centers may also request funds for equipment needed to better accommodate their veteran participants.

Veterans will also benefit through the veteran-focused training of PATH Intl. Certified Instructors via at least one face-to-face PATH International Equine Services for Heroes Workshop (Date and location TBD) that will provide customized education for working with this honorable and distinguished population. Online curriculum for credentialed professionals will also be developed.

Sam Albrecht, PATH Intl. Director of Membership and Programs, a US Air Force Veteran from Operations Desert Shield/Desert Storm, said, “PATH Intl. is honored to be included in such a strong group of awardees. These funds will enable the association and its members to help veterans from all conflicts and branches of the military through their interaction with horses. We thank the Department of Veterans Affairs for their trust and the PATH International Equine Services for Heroes Committee for their support in helping us secure these funds.”

The Department of Veterans Affairs defines adaptive sports as those sports that have been created or modified for persons with disabilities.

PATH Intl. has a long tradition of offering the best in EAAT to military personnel and veterans. Thanks to this Department of Veterans Affairs grant, PATH Intl. Member Centers will continue to provide help and healing through the power of the horse.

To read the release from the Department of Veterans Affair, please click here. To see a list of all awardees, click here. To learn more about PATH International Equine Services for Heroes, click here.

PATH International Equine Services for Heroes assists wounded military veterans and service personnel through services provided at PATH Intl. Member Centers by PATH International Certified Instructors. Engaging wounded veterans and service personnel as EAAT participants has proven to be very successful. EAAT has shown to be especially beneficial for individuals with the diagnoses of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) , traumatic brain injury (TBI) and many other physical, emotional and cognitive challenges.

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