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Not-for-Profit Director

Horses: Bella Terra, Mattawan, MI

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Are you intrigued by the depth and level in which we can communicate with animals? Do you find something therapeutic in dreaming of country-living and working with four-legged friends? Do you have a strong sense of self and understand the healing power of tapping into one’s deepest fears? Well, if there was ever an uplifting tale of the universe leading someone to their life’s work similar to what you may be exploring, it is the story of how the Equine Adventure at Bella Terra came into being. It may be the perfect time to take a dream job VocationVacation for a couple of days with Kim and Todd Shook at Bella Terra in southwestern Michigan (less than three hours from Chicago).

It all started in late 1999 when Kim and Todd were living in Chicago and decided to purchase a piece of land in southwestern Michigan as a weekend home. Kim still gets emotional as she recalls the connection they felt to the piece of land, which they later named Bella Terra, meaning "beautiful land" in Italian. It would not be until a seemingly unrelated trip to Tucson, Arizona five months later that fate would have Kim meet a man named Wyatt Webb and Bella Terra’s real purpose would make itself known to her.

Having worked in information technology for 20 years, Kim had received many top awards for her successes in team building, coaching, and project management. She and a friend were working on a very stressful and time consuming Y2K project when they decided to treat themselves to a few days at the Miraval Resort and Spa for some much needed pampering. Little did Kim know that she was in store for much more.

While Kim and her friend were enjoying a few days away from the stresses of their careers, they were encouraged by other guests to not leave without trying the Equine Experience. But Kim had an incredible fear of horses. She reluctantly opened herself to the idea, however. That decision changed the direction of her life. Just 15 minutes into the experience, she had an epiphany. Suddenly she had a clear vision as to the source of what was holding her back from feeling fulfilled in life. She realized that, although it was not apparent to those around her, she had been struggling with self-confidence and going through some inner turmoil about her life purpose.

The fire inside of Kim had been lit. As she recalls, "I never looked back after that moment. I was given a gift and I couldn't wait to share that gift with others." The impact of this experience, coupled with Kim and Todd’s desire for the Bella Terra land to have purpose, fueled their passion and within six months they purchased their first miniature horses at the Kalamazoo County Fair and began a breeding program with national-level show horses. Three years later, she took her husband to Miraval to meet Wyatt.

The new plan fell perfectly in line with the career change that Todd had already begun on his own a few years earlier. Todd had a degree in computer science and had also worked in information technology for 10 years. However, his desire to help others led him to go back to school at Southern Illinois University to get a second bachelors degree, in nursing. Since 1998, Todd has been a registered nurse with advanced training and certification in psychiatry.

In April, 2003, Kim and Todd received their EAGALA (Equine Assisted Growth and Learning Association) Level I certification. They have been providing equine-assisted learning services ever since. The work is extremely rewarding to the Shooks because of the immediate growth and insight participants receive. Stemming originally from her fear of horses, their decision to work with "minis" ended up being part of what Kim describes as "a plan greater than us". The program has proven to be innovative and different than other offerings in experiential programming and equine-assisted learning.

Experiential programming is a process of "learning by doing", explains Kim. Bella Terra’s mission is to empower individuals facing life challenges by providing quality therapeutic, personal growth and educational opportunities utilizing experiential programming with horses. Many people coming to Bella Terra face difficult life circumstances such as poverty, grief, trauma, recovery, learning disabilities and physical illness. Bella Terra provides its clients with a process to restore self-esteem, confidence and life joy. Bella Terra also offers this inspirational program to the general public through team building, leadership development and personal growth programs.

Participants learn about horse safety and natural horse communication, problem solving, and leadership skills. The experience targets each person’s unique communication and behavioral style while building a better understanding of strengths and how to best leverage them. The result is a clearer understanding of one’s personal effectiveness and approach to achieving goals. Because the program uses horses, many assume it is similar to therapeutic horseback riding. Although the results are similar, it differs in that it is not riding and does not focus on horsemanship skills. Rather the experience takes place on the ground doing goal-oriented activities with the horses such as grooming, obstacle courses, lunging and many group activities.

Now living her dream, Kim believes that finding one’s passion is the key to success. And, as in her case, she warns that it may find you when you least expect it. In her opinion, the next step is to "find a plan that works while evaluating the risks." Kim admits that, “…we both continued to work for awhile after starting this. We found the dream. The passion. But had to figure it out financially and see if it was even something that was viable before going full-time." After Kim’s experience with Wyatt Webb and the horses at Miraval, she never wavered in her decision to pursue this dream and pass this gift onto others, while approaching it in a way that provided her and her husband a safety net. One step at a time!

Vocationer activities will include some or all of the following:

Actively outline how to establish and operate a not-for-profit organization specifically in the equine industry
Participate in the day to day activities of operating an equine-based not-for-profit such as daily miniature horse chores (feeding, grooming, exercising and barn cleaning) and facilities management
Assist in conducting a client program (when schedule permits) as well as volunteer activities
Understand specific skill sets required to be an entrepreneur in the not-for-profit sector such as: start up, strategic business planning, budgeting, fund raising, organizational governance and volunteer programming
Develop unique, experiential, and results-oriented services for the not-for-profit sector
Experience equine experiential programming and the impact it makes with clients
Develop a plan of how to attract clients and engage them in services

Your Experiential Learning Center Not-for-Profit Director VocationVacation® includes the following:

Two days of one-on-one mentorship in your dream job
The ability to take the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator® (MBTI®), an online personality assessment designed to identify interests and skill sets
The opportunity to participate in a total of one hour of pre- and post-VocationVacation career coaching from an accredited, affiliated VocationVacations career coach
A pocket-size VocationVacations journal so you can document your dream job becoming a reality
Light lunches with your mentor

Available: All year based on mentor's availability with exception of holiday weekends

Price: $949 Per Person

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Suggested Accommodations

Henderson Castle

Hampton Inn & Suites

(Not included in the price of the VocationVacations® holiday)

Other activities and Tourist Destinations while on your VocationVacations® adventure:

Reservation, Cancellation and Rescheduling Rules and Conditions:

Full payment of the VocationVacations dream job holiday is required to make a reservation. A $100 non-refundable fee is assessed if a VocationVacations experience is cancelled or rescheduled prior to 14-days of the scheduled VocationVacations holiday, based on the approved availability of the mentor to reschedule. A VocationVacations adventure cannot be rescheduled and is non-refundable if cancelled within 14 days of the scheduled VocationVacations holiday. Written notification of cancellation or rescheduling is required in all cases. In the US, Grounded Nomads, LLC and VocationVacations holidays encourage all customers to acquire travel insurance to cover any unforeseen expenses due to cancellation or rescheduling. In the UK, Grounded Nomads, Ltd and VocationVacations holidays must require all customers to acquire travel insurance to cover any unforeseen expenses due to cancellation or rescheduling and provide verification of such travel insurance to Grounded Nomads, Ltd.