This summer, Heroes In Transition (HIT) will hold its 10th Annual Families In Transition (FIT) Camp, an opportunity for military families to bond with, care for, and ride horses at Alliance Equestrian Center in Sandwich, over the course of five days. The Mashpee-based nonprofit is currently encouraging military families to sign up to get on the lottery list for the therapeutic program.
Families interested in attending should email families@heroesintransition.org as soon as possible. A random lottery will be held to determine this year’s participants. While all ages are welcome, children over the age of 5 will be permitted to ride horses.
“Since its inception in 2013, FIT Camp has grown in popularity as it has given families in our region a chance to step away from the stressors of military life,” said HIT Executive Director Nicole Spencer. “For one week each summer, military families have a chance to relax, to connect with one another, and to experience the healing nature of horses.”
When first started, FIT Camp consisted of one week. Spencer credited HIT’s Community Partners Cape Cod 5 Foundation and The Lobster Trap as well as the Yawkey Foundation, which has provided HIT with a $20,000 grant to support its equine program, for their support which has enabled the nonprofit to meet the growing demand for FIT Camp by expanding it to three separate weeks.
This year, it will be held Monday, June 27 through Friday, July 1; Monday, July 18 through Friday, July 22, and Monday, August 1 through Friday, August 5. Daily sessions start at 4 pm and end at 7:30 pm.
Along with grooming and riding horses, families will be treated to dinner as well as post-meal activities.
Over the years, FIT Camp participants have experienced multiple relocations across the country related to their service; have had family members recently return from or leave for deployment; and have had family members who have served in combat.
“FIT Camp has offered peace, healing, and restoration to military families who sacrifice so much for our country,” Spencer said. “As we celebrate FIT Camp’s 10th anniversary, we’re grateful for all this program has provided for those we serve.”
