The PEACH Pit General
8 free sessions for Veterans
The PEACH Pit has again been funded to provide eight free individual or family equine-assisted psychotherapy sessions to Veterans and active duty servicemembers who have experienced a trauma and has a disabling condition.
We have five locations in Georgia so far: Fort Valley, Conyers, Dawsonville, Eatonton and Winder.
These services are being provided by the VA Adaptive Sports Grant, awarded to Eagala (Equine Assisted Growth and Learning Association) and is being administered through Eagala’s Military Services partner organizations.
Call us at 478-827-3224 or send an email to info@thepeachpitgeorgia.org for more information.
Keeping you safe during pandemic
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The PEACH Pit is taking the following precautions to protect our clients and help slow the spread of the coronavirus.
- Office seating has been arranged for appropriate physical distancing.
- The therapy team will wear masks.
Staff and clients wear masks to protect each other. - The therapy team maintains safe distancing.
- Restroom soap dispensers are maintained, and everyone is encouraged to wash their hands. Individual soap packages are available to each client.
- Hand sanitizer that contains at least 60 percent alcohol is available in the arena and office.
- We schedule appointments at specific intervals to minimize the number of people at the facility.
- We ask all clients to wait in their vehicles or outside until no earlier than 5 minutes before their appointment times.
- Areas that are commonly touched are thoroughly sanitized after each use.
- Physical contact is not permitted.
- Tissues and trash bins are easily accessed. Trash is disposed of frequently.
- Common areas are thoroughly disinfected at the end of each day.
This just in: CFC reopens
In a rare move, the Combined Federal Campaign has reopened through June 30 for federal employees and retirees to help charities in these hard times.
The PEACH Pit sure could use your help! Our CFC number is 27220.
In these crazy times of the COVID-19 pandemic, The PEACH Pit team has put the horses out to pasture, and we have sheltered in our respective homes. Thus, we haven’t seen clients face-to-face in almost a month.
That also has meant little income that ultimately will help us provide affordable mental health care services.
We mostly rely on donations to help those who have financial challenges. This special campaign will bring in funds to help more people when we reopen.
Here’s what the CFC Special Solicitation says:
- One hundred percent of the gifts made in this campaign will go to charities (without a distribution fee).
- Funds pledged will be paid out to charities by the 15th day of the month following receipt of the pledge.
- If you didn’t pledge by payroll deduction in fall 2019, you can make a payroll-funded gift through the CFC.
- Donors who did pledge by payroll allotments last fall can make additional donations with electronic credit, debit, or ACH gift on the CFC giving platform or the mobile app.
This is your opportunity to do even more, if you are able, to help The PEACH Pit during this difficult year.
Please add us to your pledge basket: 27220. Thank you for helping The PEACH Pit help others.
Saving the world with masks
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The PEACH Pit recently partnered with Sew Blessed Alterations to provide face masks for employees at the Fort Valley Post Office.
Kandace Marie Hodge, owner of Sew Blessed Alterations who works at The PEACH PIT, came up with the idea. She provided the fabric and other supplies, and The PEACH Pit provided volunteer labor, better known as grandchildren. The work was done at Smiley’s Flea Market in Macon, where Kandace Marie’s shop is housed. The flea market was closed, which allowed the team to maintain a safe distance from others.
The work entitled ironing interfacing onto fabric, cutting and pinning patterns, cutting fabric, stitching masks, ironing mask seams and inserting elastic.
So far, the postal workers have received 30 of the 52 masks needed to protect them. The remainder were awaiting delivery.
Navigating COVID-19 together
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Understandably, the novel coronavirus pandemic has many people concerned. As we all navigate the impact of COVID-19, we’ve made some decisions about events at The PEACH Pit to keep our visitors, therapists and clients safe.
We’re postponing the Horsepower and Heroes Retreat, scheduled for May 1-3; we’ll post here when we set the new dates for the retreat.
We’re also suspending group volunteer activities. We will continue to accept individual volunteers, and we’ll continue to see clients since the majority of our sessions are outdoors in open-air settings that maintain a safe distance from others.
Meanwhile, here are a few tips to help you protect yourself physically and emotionally:
- Limit your intake of media. Repeated exposure to the same stressful event can exacerbate your stress response. It’s good to stay in the know, but consider limiting your ingestion of news media, especially if you are starting to feel overwhelmed.
- Take care of your body. Drink lots of water, eat healthy and continue with your normal exercise routine.
- Make time to relax. With the news of any large scale adverse event, there is an inherent sense of urgency. We can get wrapped up the energy of outside actors (newscasters, politicians, fundraisers, etc.). Constant vigilance is not good for your body. To counteract it, use your relaxation coping skills like breathing, journaling or listening to music.
- Talk about it. Connect with others about how you’re feeling and what concerns you have. Connect with them about other things, too. There’s no reason to stop living your life.
- Take appropriate precautions to keep yourself healthy. Follow the CDC guidelines for prevention: Wash your hands regularly, avoid touching your face and avoid contact with people known to be sick.
If you find that you are having a difficult time coping or that you are feeling overwhelmed, please reach out. Our counseling sessions can help, and you’ll be able to maintain a safe social distance, as well.
