Circle TLC Ranch fundraiser helps children and women heal from trauma

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On Saturday, Moreno Valley in Lakeside was taken over by the laughter and joyful screaming coming from the kids running around in dirt, swinging in rubber tires hung from trees, trying to hit aluminum cans with bows and arrows, riding ponies, having their face painted, playing with balloons and just being children in a heaven like place facing the West side of the El Cajon mountain range.

On Saturday, Moreno Valley in Lakeside was taken over by the laughter and joyful screaming coming from the kids running around in dirt, swinging in rubber tires hung from trees, trying to hit aluminum cans with bows and arrows, riding ponies, having their face painted, playing with balloons and just being children in a heaven like place facing the West side of the El Cajon mountain range. Circle TLC Ranch, a nonprofit organization assisting children and women victims of trauma, held its annual Christmas fundraising party turned into a chili cookout competition with winners, raffle tickets and lots of fun for families and kids. Tammy Collins, the founder, went inside a coral to show children how she works with Cheyenne, “my baby”, how she calls him, a beautiful rescued quarter horse enveloped in dark honey and golden amber skin tones. Collins is using a horse mask and a bridle to train Cheyenne not to run back when there is a lot of stimulation around. Asked if she uses the same gentle, progressive approach with the children and women who are coming to the ranch to find healing, Collins said, “Each child is different. We have kids who’ve been through horrific things and we can’t have them starting on the horse right away. Just for them to come out here is a step, to be around other people is a step, to look you in the eyes and even be able to talk to you.”

Collins said it takes time for children and women who are victims of abuse to recognize that they are “inside of a box and to want to come out of it. They are so hurt, that they don’t even know where they are at. Even this environment, the mountains, the fresh air and the quiet allow them to start thinking. They can sit in our swing and breathe, if that’s the first step."

Collins has been riding horses for 30 years, but her main job was in real estate and loans for 18 years before the crash in 200. “I lost everything. Then this ranch came out, this is our beauty for ashes,” she said.

She remembered about a woman in Oregon who rescues horses and helps kids with trauma and decided to do the same in Lakeside. Collins has two rescued horses now, because of the high cost.

“We rescue horses, but our heart is for the children. Blue, the last horse I rescued was starving; I have pictures of her when she came here," she said. "Cheyenne had a rough beginning, had people throwing tarp at him and we couldn’t even touch his ears. He has trust issues.”

Collins said that kids and horses can help each other find a place of healing “where they can start to grow and enjoy life more, live to their potential.” She said that everybody who works at the ranch is a volunteer and the cost to take care of the horses runs up to more than $50,000 per year.

“We need donations, we need money. We work here six days a week and we don’t get paid. So we are constantly spending a lot of time doing fundraising when we would rather be working with the children,” she said. Circle TLC helped more than 150 children for the past seven years and got its name from Collins’ initials (Tammy Leann Collins) and is also inspired by her faith: “for the love of Christ through life change.”

Julie Caldwell is an assistant at the ranch, helping with photography and fundraising. She met Collins on the trail few years back, “and Tammy was riding her horse and singing a song and I said, oh, I like that song. I saw her Circle TLC t-shirt that said, “Healing hearts and minds through the love of equines” and she told me about the ranch. "The rest is history, as Caldwell has been helping for the past year, following her dream to be involved in something that has to do with horses and helping children. I believe it was God trying to tell me that he wanted me to help out with this cause.”

A similar goal motivated Collins to combine “her dream of having a ranch, horses and helping children,” said Collins’ mom, Suzanne Collins.

“Tammy always had horses. She loved horses since she was 5 years old. I am very proud of her," she said.

Collins said the ranch is hosting spring and summer camps and children who come there “don’t have self confidence and by the time they leave, they are getting up on a horse and riding by themselves. It’s awesome.” Grandma’s main role though is different, but nonetheless important. “I help take care of Tammy’s son, Georgino. He stays with me, so she could dedicate her time to the children instead of her son," she said.

A volunteer, Abigail Debus, is still in high school and started at the ranch while she was a junior. Debus helps clean the stalls, feed the horses and lead the children. She didn’t have any previous experience and learned everything from Collins.

“I love the opportunity to help kids who didn’t have the best home life or had a rough time growing up. I love being able to see them riding and coming out of their shell to learn and fall in love with the horses,” she said.

Collins adds, “We need volunteers. We prefer people who are horse savvy, but that’s not necessary. The main thing is that you have a heart for helping children and women who are hurting, not necessarily to be around horses.  The horses are tools that we use, but the desire needs to be for helping the children and women."

More information on how to volunteer and donate is listed on the organization’s website at www.thecircletranch.com.

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