October 24, 2024 / Equipping other effective missions with solar power
Equipping a horse farm with solar power in Cincinnati’s Price Hill neighborhood? Yes, that just happened.
Perhaps the last place you’d expect to see a horse farm is in Price Hill. But this urban Cincinnati neighborhood has a big secret: a 10-acre farm nestled at the end of a residential street complete with a barn, horses, riding arena, chickens, and a thriving garden.
Now, thanks to you, it’s powered by the light of the Son/sun.
What really makes this farm special is the equine therapy work they do to heal children, trauma victims, individuals in recovery, and more. It was an easy decision for SonLight Power to come alongside Horses on the Hill, an arm of BLOC Ministries, to equip their faith-based mission with a new solar power system.
As a sustainable energy initiative in urban Cincinnati, the project was also selected as an inaugural winner of the Green Cincinnati Plan Seeds of Change Grant Program, run by the City of Cincinnati’s Office of Environment & Sustainability.
Surrounded by 80 acres of woods on a dead-end street, Horses on the Hill includes a 12,000 square-foot barn, indoor riding arena, gardens, chickens, rabbits, and bees. Everything has been crafted with specialty therapy work in mind for a community hurting with trauma, addiction, and poverty.
“You would never know the farm is back there,” says Dwight Young, co-founder of BLOC. “There’s nothing like it in the city.”
And with only a handful of urban equine therapy farms in the country, now Horses on the Hill may be the only one utilizing solar power for net zero electricity emissions.
Staffed by licensed counselors, almost all the men, women, and children who come to Horses on the Hill work directly with the specially trained horses either one-to-one or in group therapy.
Horses are sensitive to human feelings, so as a person interacts with their horse during therapy, they send nonverbal cues the horse picks up on. In return, the horse provides feedback that helps bring comfort and emotional regulation.
Dwight recalls how one teenage girl who experienced bullying at school received healing at the farm:
“She hated going to school; people were always in her space, and she didn’t know how to handle that. We first taught her how to groom a full-size horse, Sid. Then we drew a circle around her and showed her how to keep Sid out of her circle by raising her hands. Sid is a big horse so he can be intimidating! But this girl did it! Later at school, she realized that if she could keep Sid out of her circle, she could do the same thing with the kids who were crossing her boundary and hurting her. She gained a sense of empowerment and self-esteem by working with Sid that she can take with her for the rest of her life.”
It’s truly remarkable how these horses teach both adults and kids how to cope with anger, stress, conflicts, and life burdens. But like many missions, financial resources need to be stewarded well in order to maintain thriving operations. Horses on the Hill is no different.
“Running an equine barn is not cheap,” says Mackenzie Sharpshair, Program Director at Horses on the Hill. “Finding ways to be able to cut costs in other areas in order to pour it into other parts of our ministry is absolutely vital.”
It’s just one reason that led BLOC Ministries to equip their mission through SonLight Power with a new solar energy system.
SonLight Power projects epitomize the power of partnership. In addition to the Seeds of Change grant, this project was made possible by grant funding from the Johnson Charitable Gift Fund. The Cincinnati Zoo provided critical installation and material support. And B&J Electric came through with invaluable wiring, electrical, and permitting help.
“What I love is that we get to work alongside great partners like BLOC Ministries, the
Zoo, B&J, JCGF, the City’s Office of Environment & Sustainability, Boonrise, our amazing donors…the list goes on” says Kevin Sasson, SonLight Power executive director. “Our collaborative work ultimately will empower Horses on the Hill to focus more resources on Kingdom impact rather than paying off a utility bill.”
The solar power system should produce enough electricity to power everything at the farm. Thanks to the cost savings from solar energy, resources once spent on electric bills can instead be redirected to horse care, enhancing programs, and providing more outreach opportunities.
“In a neighborhood like Price Hill, kids often don’t know where milk and eggs come from,” says Dwight. “With solar power, we can not only take care of nature, but we can teach the community how to care for God’s creation, too.”
Inspired by the impact SonLight Power can have on a mission like Horses on the Hill? Find out how your church, school, or mission organization can partner with SonLight Power on purpose-driven, Kingdom-building solar projects. Connect with us at [email protected]
For more information: VIDEO: SonLight Power equips Horses on the Hill in Price Hill/Cincinnati with solar
