SARI Capital Campaign - Background

Sari Greenberg’s birth in 1959 was the touchstone to change the lives of many. Sari was born with Down Syndrome. Faced with the challenge of raising their daughter at a time when there was little support and even less understanding of parenting handicapped children, Sari’s parents, Jeanne and Syd Greenberg, set out to build needed resources and find answers. Sari’s sudden death at the age of 15 left a great void in the lives of her family, relatives and friends. In their grief, Jeanne and Syd chose to make their daughter’s all-too-short life a miracle for others. During Sari’s short lifetime, Jeanne and Syd witnessed the benefit and pleasure their daughter derived from being around their farm animals, including horses.

In 1978 the Greenbergs founded S.A.R.I. Special Ability Riding Institute. Later called SARI Riding for Disabled and today known as SARI Therapeutic Riding, the facilities were built on land owned and donated by the Greenbergs. SARI occupied five acres at 12659 Medway Road in Arva (just north of London) and operated with three horses, a program director and a barn manager. Limited financial resources made possible by donations and grants paid for one staff person to teach, do administrative work and manage volunteers. Six individuals participated in S.A.R.I.
programs.

Over the years, demand for SARI programs mandated an increase in personnel, volunteers, horses and equipment. To this day, SARI depends on its annual fundraising events and initiatives to fund the majority of the organization’s operating costs and ensures a minimal fee to the participant’s family.