Easter egg hunt draws over 100 to Angel’s Haven

OWEN MACMILLAN THE COMMUNITY GUIDE

GRAFTON — Despite the low temperature, approximately 100 visitors and over 40 volunteers came together on Sunday to combine two of the things kids love most; horse rides and Easter egg hunts.

Angel’s Haven Horse Rescue held its 15th Annual Easter Egg Hunt on March 19, drawing dozens of families from across Lorain County and beyond.

For a donation of $15 visitors could participate in the Easter Egg hunt of course, but kids were also allowed unlimited horse rides in the barn, food, games and pictures with the Easter Bunny.

Of all the aspects of the event, meeting, riding and getting to know the horses is the most important thing to the members of Angel’s Haven, and many of their visitors.

“Our mission is really to allow the horses to be worked to their fullest potential and to help people in the process,” Heidi Sandrev said. “And that is extremely gratifying, but it’s a team effort and everybody works towards a common goal of not only helping horses, but the people involved.”

Sandrev is the co-founder of Angel’s Haven, a nonprofit which rehabilitates abused or otherwise inneed horses and ponies as well as creating opportunities for volunteers to meet, care for and work with them.

The organization has held an Easter egg hunt for the last 15 years and also holds two other large public events a year: a Santa Claus meeting in December and a “Love Your Horse” event in February.

Sandrev said everything the organization did was thanks to its approximately 100 volunteers.

“The volunteers do everything, from stall cleaning daily, taking care of the horses and feeding to helping with events,” she said. “Our biggest mission in life is helping horses (and) helping people.”

The Easter egg hunt and other public events are important fundraising opportunities for Angel’s Haven, but more important to the members is getting people interested in horses and the organization.

“It helps get people exposed to horses who maybe are a little leery,”

Claire Snahnican, a senior at North Olmsted High School, said. “So many different people come in and out of the barn. New people are always here, I’m always seeing new faces and it’s lovely to see how many people have the same hobby and passion as you.”

Snahican is still in high school, but she is far from the youngest volunteer on the Angel’s Haven staff. Sandrev said that kids as young as four help out around the barn.

Five young volunteers are members of the same family -- the children of Keith and Dana Bell who range from two to 13-years-old.

The Bell family has been a part of Angel’s Heaven for a decade, ever since Keith Bell brought his 13-year-old daughter Madeline there at the age of three.

Their other children, Emily, 11, Grant, 8 and Chris, 4 have been involved with the organization virtually since birth. Even 6-monthold Laura Bell was there, fulfilling the crucial role of “non-working volunteer,” Sandrev said.

Keith Bell said that events like the Easter egg hunt are important to bring people in, so that An-

Fit for royalty

gel’s Haven can find new volunteers and kids have a chance to grow with the horses, as his own children did.

“Events like this are great for community outreach,” Bell said. “Bringing more people in is how we get people interested and bring in the next group of volunteers who will care for the horses.”

The love all the volunteers had for the horses was clear, and they relished the opportunity to share that passion with anyone who arrived.

“This place is so special, the horses (are) therapeutic,” volunteer Rebecca Lawrence said. “It’s a great place to come when you’re not in a great mood and just love a horse, take care of a horse and they give so much back.”

Visit angelshaven horserescue.org to learn more about Angel’s Haven volunteer opportunities and upcoming events.

Kendal at Oberlin accredited again

OBERLIN — Kendal at Oberlin recieved its sixth accredidation.

The required focus on self-study, continuous improvement and benchmarking against like organizations, helps us to serve our residents and staff better. It’s like the “Seal of Approval” that assures a commitment to quality. Our community recently received confirmation that CARF has approved and renewed our accreditation for another 5-year period.

The work began towards this effort in 2021 and engaged numerous staff and residents. Over 1,900 standards were addressed, and numerous “bright spots” were highlighted.

Kendal hosted our on-site surveyors in early November of 2022.

In the exit conference, the surveyors noted very positive results. But the final result came in late December, when Kendal received written confirmation that its accreditation was renewed in three areas. These included Continuing Care Retirement Community, Personcentered Long Term Care Community and Dementia Care Specialty Program.

The accreditation report identified “no recommendations,” indicating full compliance with the standards. The accompanying letter noted that this is achieved in only 3% of CARF surveys nationally. The report highlighted over 20 areas of strength. In addition, there were two areas of exemplary conformance, with recognition of its strong financial ratios and efforts in the area of dementia education. CARF Accreditation offers assurance that Kendal at Oberlin will always strive towards quality services and ongoing improvement.

OSU Extension hires new agriculture educator

STAFF REPORT

The Ohio State University Extension Lorain County Office hired Thomas Becker as agriculture and natural resources educator earlier this month, a news release from the office said.

Becker, of Smithville, has been in the position for two weeks and already has met with Lorain County master gardeners and hosted pesticide applicator training for almost 30 producers at the Lorain County AG Center.

He received a two-year degree in environmental science with a specialization in natural resources from Ohio State University ATI as well as a bachelor’s degree in natural resources with a specialization in sustainable agriculture. Becker was also a crop scout with the OSU Extension Wayne County Office’s integrated pest management program.

“I loved what I did as a crop scout and what OSU extension stood for, so you can imagine how happy I was when I saw that an educator position opened in Lorain, just two counties away,” Becker said in the release.

His father, Frank Becker, is currently the OSU Extension agriculture and natural resources educator in Wayne County.