Programs & Sponsorship

Last year, Wonder Wood Ranch served over 300 at-risk kids and youth. You can help us reach more in 2018! Be a hero to an at-risk kid by sponsoring him/her in one or more of the programs at Wonder Wood Ranch. All contributions are 100% tax-deductible (EIN #81-2269799). Volunteers are also needed for each program.

To sponsor, simply make your contribution via check made out to Wonder Wood Ranch (and sent to 8100 Wild Horse Rd., Salinas, CA 93907) or via PayPal using marlo@wonderwoodranch.com. Mention the name of the program in the note section, and your contribution will impact the life of a kid who is most in need!

We count on your support to bring hope and healing through horses to the most at-risk kids in our community. Our goal is to raise $50,000 in 2018. With your help, we can make a difference for good!

Click to see our latest FLIER!

FOR CORPORATE SPONSORS:   Our corporate sponsors are the backbone of Wonder Wood Ranch's ability to reach the kids most in need in our community. There are three types of sponsorship available to our corporate partners. Click on the program name for more information:

1) Yearly Impact Sponsorship Program (with levels ranging from Platinum Plus to Silver)
Platinum Plus ($10,000+/year): Incentives include everything below plus: Hold your corporate day retreat at the Ranch (up to 30 people)
Platinum ($5,000+/year): Incentives include everything below plus: BBQ lunch and horseback riding for up to 6 people
Gold ($2,500+/year): Incentives include everything below plus: One horseback riding lesson for two
Silver ($1,000+/year):  Incentives include: Listing on our website under your level of sponsorship for the calendar year and special posting on our FB page with your logo (if desired).

2) Yearly Sponsor-an-Animal Program (with choice of animal)
Incentives Include:  Visit your sponsored animal; nameplate on pen to include animal’s name and “Sponsored by (your name)”; your name and sponsorship listed on our website; your sponsorship posted with a picture of your sponsored animals on our Facebook page.
Choices of Animal Include: Horses, Miniature Horses, Donkeys, Miniature Donkeys, Pigs, Rabbits, Chinchillas, and Chickens
Cost of Sponsorships: Range from $250 to $4,000

3) Sponsor a Building Project (various projects available throughout the year
Contact Marlo Schalesky at marlo@wonderwoodranch.com to discuss various available building projects.
Incentives Include:  The same incentives as the Yearly Impact Sponsorship Program, based on cost of project, plus the name of your company on the building (i.e., "Bunny barn sponsored by (your name)."

Hope on Hooves

Hope on Hooves is our flagship program for Gang-Impacted and other at-risk kids. Kids ride the nearly half mile trail through the woods, learn archery, do crafts, interact with the donkeys, minis, bunnies, chinchillas, chickens, etc. while learning about making positive choices and considering life alternatives to drugs, gangs, and despair. In this program, kids explore new perspectives for life and personal growth.

SPONSORSHIP: $120/kid

Horses & Heroes

Horses & Heroes is a new program focused on using horses to give kids the tools they need to become heroes in their own communities. Currently, kids from the Police Activities League are engaged in this powerful program that teaches the value of overcoming fear, past hurts, and negative pressure so that they can value others, make good choices, and impact the lives of siblings, friends, and classmates. Through this program, kids are encouraged to be the positive change in their communities and lives.

SPONSORSHIP: $50/kid

Animals & Art

Our Animals & Art program is supported by the Arts Council for Monterey County and combines the power of animals and artistic expression to heal and give hope to kids who are the most at-risk in our community. Professional artists and teachers of art partner with us and our animals to open the world of art to kids. Kids learn basic forms of art (painting, sculpture, sketch, watercolor, etc.) with animals to increase the personal impact of this program.

SPONSORSHIP: $40/kid

Critters & Classics

Our Critters & Classics program combines the power of classic literature with hands-on activities related to the reading. This program not only increases literacy but also strongly promotes a love for reading by combining beloved classics such as Charlotte's Web, Black Beauty, and the Giving Tree, with engaging activities involving the animals themselves. Imagine reading about Wilbur and then scratching the tummy of a real pig, or learning about the trials of Black Beauty and then caring for a real horse. What better way to learn to love reading! This program is taught by a professional, multi-published and award-winning author.

SPONSORSHIP: $25 kid

Work to Ride

Our Work-to-Ride program teaches kids that fun should follow work, and that work can be fun too! We teach animal care and clean-up prior to grooming, riding, or other activities. The purpose of this program is to give a fuller Ranch experience and teach kids the joy and fulfillment not only of horses, but of hard work (we really don't work them THAT hard).

SPONSORSHIP: $20/kid

Creative Writing Academy

Taught by a multi-published, award-winning professional author of both fiction and non-fiction, this course will combine creative writing instruction with animal-related activities at the Ranch. Participants will learn how to express themselves and communicate effectively through writing. The goal of this course is for each participant to create a publishable piece of writing that will be included in a compilation after the course has concluded. The instructor for this course also teaches workshops and seminars for professional writers as well as for students and has found that writing has a unique healing effect on kids and youth as they learn to express themselves through words.

SPONSORSHIP: $50/kid

Leadership Academy

Our Leadership Academy seeks out kids with leadership potential who live in high-violence, low-income neighborhoods in our community. Through in-depth training and unique animal-related opportunities, these kids are encouraged and prepared to become leaders in their own circles of influence with the goal of transforming their own communities through their influence.

SPONSORSHIP: $20/kid

Summer Day Camps

Our summer day camps include both on-site horse camps and off-site camps for kids who have no other opportunities to be involved in summer camps. These camps aim to transform lives through focused week-long camps during the summer. Kids learn about ranch life, learn to ride on their own, and are trained for positive life activities. Horse camps are usually only available to kids who can afford it. With your help, these life-transforming camps can be experienced by the neediest and most at-risk in our community. Camp changes lives and will be remembered for a lifetime! Your donation will make a forever-impact on the life of a kid who would never be able to have this kind of experience.

SPONSORSHIP: $400/kid

Picnic in the Pasture

Picnic in the Pasture is a fun program for kids of all ages. Our most basic, introductory program allows kids to experience our animals while having a fun "picnic" at the Ranch. We find that even simple exposure to the Ranch environment and the animals can open kids to hope and new perspectives in life. A mere $10 can provide lunch and a wonder-filled experience for kids who otherwise are stuck inside their homes due to neighborhood violence and gang activity.

SPONSORSHIP: $10/kid

Boronda Manor Horses & Hope

Wonder Wood Ranch has targeted a specific high-crime area in North Salinas to bring hope through horses to kids who live in that area. Our first program has launched at Boronda Manor, a low-income apartment complex with over 500 kids. Once a month we bring a message of hope along with animals, crafts, activities, food, and other fun to the kids at Boronda Manor, at no cost to them. If this program is successful, we will expand to other low-income apartment complexes in the area as well as the local elementary and middle schools. We aim to transform this gang-impacted area of our city with the power of horses and hope! Can you help?

SPONSORSHIP: $75/kid

Special Events

Wonder Wood Ranch also brings specialized events to disadvantaged kids throughout the year. Some of these events include our Hands on Horses event for Blind/Visually Impaired kids, our Hope for Homeless event, Type 1 Diabetes day, and our annual Haunted Trail events for at-risk kids. These events create special and wonder-filled memories for special and wonderful kids who look forward to these events every year.

SPONSORSHIP: $100/kid

Animal Sponsorship and New Programs!

Horses are expensive! Animals are expensive! But the impact they have on the human heart is priceless! Here at the Ranch we are always thinking up new programs to impact kids and our community. If you want to be on the cutting edge of what the Ranch is doing, consider a gift for new programs. Or, you can sponsor one of our many amazing animals and help pay for feed, vet bills, and/or upkeep. Our animals work hard to bring hope and healing to kids. You can sponsor one of these amazing animals and help them to be healthy and happy and at their best for the kids.
Click ANIMALS to see animals to sponsor.

SPONSORSHIP: $ Any amount

NOTE: Private and group horse riding LESSONS are available for a fee. 20% of the fee directly supports the charity work of the Ranch. Contact Bethany Schalesky at bethanyschalesky@me.com for more information or to schedule lessons.

To Volunteer for any of these programs, or for between-event clean-up and animal care, please fill out the Volunteer Questionnaire (Click here for Volunteer Questionnaire) and email it to marlo@wonderwoodranch.com.

For all participants, guests, and volunteers, please download, fill out, and turn in our Liability Release Form before participation at the Ranch.