The University of Alabama at Birmingham Institute of Arts in Medicine and The Red Barn have teamed up to offer female veterans a day of relaxation and creativity Sunday, Oct. 30.
Participants will have the opportunity to interact with horses, create art, laugh and enjoy beautiful natural surroundings with professional artists-in-residence from UAB Hospital and the staff and volunteers of The Red Barn.
The event is set from 1-4 p.m. at The Red Barn, 2700 Bailey Road, Leeds. Registration is required, but the event is free. To register for the event, or for more information, contact Kimberly Kirklin at 205-934-0862 or kkirklin@uab.edu.
The Red Barn staff is looking forward to once again sharing their horses with veterans, who also will have the opportunity to work with artists from UAB’s Arts in Medicine program, says Joy O’Neal, executive director of The Red Barn and a UAB alumna.
“It is our privilege to provide a peaceful retreat for these women who have served our country,” O’Neal said. “There aren’t many opportunities for female veterans to gather and enjoy one another’s company, so the horses and the arts first serve as icebreakers for the women to get to know one another. As the day goes on, horses and the arts create the memories that these women will cherish of their time together.”
Each week, more than 100 children and adults visit The Red Barn to work with horses in order to strengthen their minds, bodies and souls, according to The Red Barn’s website, www.theredbarn.org. Whether they are attending a riding lesson, camp or educational activity, everyone entering the barn is welcomed, encouraged and loved. Since the agency’s founding in 2012, it has provided thousands of hours of smiles and laughter for children and adults with physical, cognitive and emotional disabilities or special circumstances. The Red Barn’s programs were inspired by the vision of Anita Cowart, to create a place where those with burdened hearts could come to find faith, hope and love while they work with horses.