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Re: [RC] dodge 1500 towing a 3 horse trailer -
Karla Watson
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[RC] Charity Begins at Home (Part 1) -
Linda B. Merims
[RC] Charity Begins at Home (Part 2) - Linda B. Merims
If I want to
join a local "saddle club" that raises money for
MSPCA or
animal shelters or the local fire house charity,
there
are dozens already out there: Hanson, Bristol County
Horsemen, Acquidneck Island, Tanheath...
I join BSTRA because it is doing what no other "saddle club"
is doing: organizing to further the interests of horsemen.
Does the Massachusetts Audubon Society re-direct its funds to
outside
charities? No. It uses its money to hire lobbyists who
write the environmental legislation that will shortly
control how we access state forests.
Does New England Mountain Bike Association (NEMBA)
re-direct its funds to charities? No. It uses its money to
buy land in Hopkinton so that mountain bikers can continue
to ride on it.
Horsemen have got to start thinking the same way. We
have to become mature thinkers, as sophisticated in
our approach to defending our interests as our
recreational allies--
and opponents
.
When we get a dollar in the treasury, we need to think how
best to use that dollar
for ourselves
.
Here are some ideas of what to do with the Wompatuck
ride's proceeds that show how this new mindset
works:
- Give the proceeds to BSTRA's Southern New England
Trunkline Trail Rt 146A bridge fund.
Or, since that isn't even in SE Massachusetts, how about
these more local ideas:
- Start a land acquisition fund. When a local land trust
needs funds to make a purchase, HERD can kick in with
real $$ to help the cause, and thus ensure horse access
to the land. $1000 in cold hard cash works a lot better
than hours of pleading with unsympathetic land managers.
- Give it to the Friends of Assawompsett Pond to build a horse
bridge over one of the water-crossings they are so concerned
about.
- Give it to the new Association for Rural Middleboro to fund
improvements to horse trails.
Or, thinking of national efforts:
- Give it to the Equestrian Land Conservation Resource
- Give it to EnviroHorse to help fund research that demonstrates
that horses are not a hazard to drinking water sources
These are just ideas. Come up with your own. But remember:
Charity has got to start happening at home!
Linda B. Merims
lbm@xxxxxxxxx
Massachusetts, USA
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[RC] Charity Begins at Home (Part 1) -
Linda B. Merims
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Re: [RC] dodge 1500 towing a 3 horse trailer -
Karla Watson
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