Rainbow Dreaming CIC is a small Community Interest Company based near Skegness in lovely Lincolnshire. We provide pony therapy visits to residential settings (primarily care homes, nursing homes, hospices, hospitals, and SEN settings) where people would otherwise not have much, if any, contact with animals. Our aim is to brighten the lives of as many of the most vulnerable people in our community as possible through interaction with our magical little therapy ponies.

The impact a visit from our tiny ponies has cannot be overstated, and they really do provide an invaluable service to some of the most vulnerable individuals living in East Lindsey. Using animals in therapy is becoming increasingly popular, and whilst there is limited scientific evidence to demonstrate the positive impact that animals can have in various therapeutic settings, there is a vast amount of anecdotal evidence to suggest that interacting with animals can be very beneficial. Effects can include lowered blood pressure and heart rate (and therefore decreased anxiety), improved mood, increased sense of self-worth, and a general improvement in mental, physical and social well-being. Equine-assisted therapy has also been shown to improve communication and interaction in people who are otherwise withdrawn.

Whilst everyone has felt the effects of not being able to visit family and friends until recently, as a result of COVID restrictions, it has been particularly hard for the elderly, and those with special educational needs, living on their own, or in residential settings. Now that restrictions have been lifted however, we aim to get back out and visit as many people as possible to bring some much needed sunshine into the lives of those who need it the most, but... in order to do this as cheaply as possible, we need your help!

As a relatively new CIC, we are still very much in the early stages of looking at our funding options, but we hope to be able to continue to access grant funding which will enable us to provide therapy visits at a vastly reduced rate, if not completely free! We were recently lucky enough to be awarded some grant funding to deliver therapy pony visits to a number of local care homes, but these fully funded visits are now almost done, and we don't know how long it will take for us to access another funding pot.

We don't like, or want, to charge for our services (we truly believe that everyone should be able to benefit from our four-legged therapy absolutely free of charge), but we currently need to charge a minimum of £75 per visit to cover the most basic of our costs - we know that to many that's a lot of money, so all donations will go directly towards the costs associated with providing our therapy visits, thereby reducing the cost to those accessing our services.

You can make a one-off donation, or a set amount every month (we'd be incredibly grateful for whatever you can spare). Any donations would be amazing, and should you choose to donate (no matter how small or large the amount), you can rest assured your hard earned pennies will be used to help improve the lives of those who need it most.

Thank you!