Quantum Leap Farm, Inc., a non-profit organization located in Odessa, Florida was founded in 2000 to serve local adults with mental and physical disabilities. Quantum Leap Farm's mission is to enrich and enhance the lives of handicapped adults by engaging them in a variety of equestrian activities designed to promote and improve physical, mental, and social well being. Quantum Leap was founded also to perform research documenting the many benefits of therapeutic horseback riding.
Incorporated January 19, 2000, Quantum Leap began its service on July 1st and received its tax exempt status from the IRS on July 5th of that year. As the only therapeutic horseback riding program dedicated to adults locally, Quantum Leap’s participant volume has grown and continues to grow steadily. In 2001, our first full year of service, we provided just over 1100 riding sessions to upwards of 80 participants from Hillsborough, Pinellas and Pasco Counties with the help of over 90 volunteers. Last year we served just over 500 individuals with over 5,000 therapeutic sessions, assisted by over 8,000 hours of volunteer support.
QLF participants’ ages range from 2 to 93 years and they are diagnosed with a variety of conditions including: Parkinson’s disease, multiple sclerosis, muscular dystrophy, stroke, traumatic brain injury, spinal cord injury, Down Syndrome and other developmental disabilities. Participants are referred to us by word of mouth and by other agencies serving handicapped adults. We have developed relationships with many of these agencies including: the James A. Haley Veteran’s Administration Hospital, Bay Pines Veteran's Hospital, the Family Resources Centers located on MacDill Air Force Base, the University of South Florida’s Aging Research Program, the University of South Florida’s Parkinson’s Support Group, the West Coast Chapter of the American Parkinson’s Disease Association, Morton Plant Hospital’s Stroke Support Group, the MacDonald Training Center, and many others.
As a non-profit 501 (c) (3) organization, we seek program support from a variety of sources. We charge disabled and able-bodies riders $50.00 per riding session. Riding sessions for our handicapped clients generate only enough revenue to cover a small portion of our expenses. It is for this reason that we sponsor and/or participate in numerous fundraisers, apply for grants, negotiate discounts from our vendors, recruit participant sponsors, and solicit contributions from individual and corporate sponsors on an ongoing basis.
We have received support from the Gulf Coast Community Foundation of Venice, DAV Charitable Service Trust, Hillsborough County, Gasparilla Festival, Hyde Park Village Live Music Series, Keystone Civic Association, Levi Strauss Company, Bay Area Dressage, Great Art & Frame in Westchase Village, Feather Sound Golf and Country Club, The USAA Foundation, The Junior League of Tampa, Home Depot, Operation Homefront, Bank of America, MetLife, National Non-Profit for Americans with Disabilities, Southwest Airlines, Wounded Warriors Family Support, several local AmVets Posts, ASMBA Star Foundation, Fezziwig WWJD Foundation, Friends of Military Families, National Multiple Sclerosis Society, Little Everglades Steeplechase and many local individual contributors. Additionally, we were chosen as the benefiting charity for the Gasparilla Festival in 2012, hosted our most successful Quantum Leap Farm Annual Charity Golf Tournament, and we have partnered 1Voice, the proceeds of which are applied to support participation in Quantum Leap's equine therapy programs.
In 2008 we expanded our services to include At EASE sessions (Equine Assisted Self-Exploration) and EEL (Equine Experiential Learning). Offering these additional therapies allows us to include adults with a wide variety of mental and physical needs and brings us closer to our vision of being a comprehensive equestrian facility for disabled adults.
Although Quantum Leap has served active and veteran military and their families since its inception, participation sky-rocketed upon receipt in 2009 of a two-year BRAIVE Grant through the Gulf Coast Community Foundation of Venice, underwriting participation of OEF/OIF (Operation Enduring Freedom/Operation Iraqi Freedom) military members and their families. Military participation jumped 93% through this generous anonymous individual donor’s gift. We established Family Fun Days, a Saturday afternoon at the Farm, especially designed for military families who are facing the deployment of a parent.
In 2010, we added a Hippotherapy program (physical therapy via horses both mounted and on the ground), overseen by licensed Physical Therapist Lynn Bankston. We also installed a Sure Hands Lift to safely aid paralyzed participants in mounting our therapy horses. Our At EASE Team began a series of W.O.W. (Women of Warriors) weekend retreats for the wives and caregivers of injured soldiers.
In 2011, we have created programs to serve pediatric cancer patients, pediatric cancer survivors and their families. We also added Quantum Leap Farm CEO, Patricia Fried, to the QLF roster bring staff from 4 employees in 2000 to 7 full and part-time employees and 3 contractors in 2011. In 2011 we served over 800 individuals ranging in age from 2 to 93 years, with assistance from over 500 volunteers.
Quantum Leap Farm’s future plans includes further expansion of our service to military participants, and additional service to a wide variety of challenged children and young people. We are very excited about the potential of our equine assisted therapies: At EASE (Equine Assisted Self Exploration) and EEL (Equine Experiential Learning) and are seeing growth in these programs. Future plans for physical expansion include the construction of a second covered arena dedicated to At EASE and EEL sessions, and an on-site administrative office. We will also continue to expand our individual contributor base and develop our endowment fund to ensure that Quantum Leap Farm remains a viable and long-lived resource for Tampa Bay Area adults with disabilities.