In Honor of Nicolas

I have chosen my first 5K!  I will be running (& walking) the 3rd Annual Butterfly Dreams 5K on September 4, 2010.  To encourage me to train, I'm choosing races that have a special meaning to me.

Let me introduce you to my friend, Nicolas.  Nicolas is an awesome little boy who has Autism.  He is one of the sweetest little boys you will every meet.  Nicolas goes to our church and we've become good friends with his family.  Nicolas has very attentive parents (Bonny & Stephen) who are doing everything in their power to give Nic-Nic all the opportunities in the world.  His big sister, Natalie, is always there to help him out, too.

So, why did I choose this race to be my first?  Butterfly Dreams Farm is a therapeutic riding and hippotherapy farm in our community.  The farm serves children with a variety of special needs, but one of those is autism.  According to their website, hippotherapy aids the children by:

The horses walking gait almost perfectly simulates the movement of a child walking. This provides the perfect opportunity for children with motor deficits to develop muscle strength, normalize tone, and gain endurance. This movement also facilitates improved auditory and verbal processing, communication and interactive skills.

Although, Nicolas doesn't currently have therapy at Butterfly Dreams, I am very thankful to have such a wonderful opportunity right in our own neighborhood.  I want to support these types of local businesses so that they can continue to provide for our friends and neighbors (and possibly our family, as well).

I want to challenge you.  What will do you to make sure that opportunities such as these remain in your community?