Feather Fund Helps Dreams Come True

For those that may not be familiar with the organization, this beautifully explains the 'Feather Fund'.

From July 21, 2011

CHINCOTEAGUE -- Each year at Pony Penning, crowds come from states far away to see the wild ponies. Many choose their favorites to bid on, taking home their own Chincoteague foals.



Author Lois Szymanski is shown with Sea Feather.

Among the crowds later this month, two girls will see their dreams come true with help from the Feather Fund. On auction day, each will hold a feather high in the air to bid their favorite pony, continuing the work of a woman named Carollynn Suplee.

Fifteen-year-old Lindsey Geiser of Johnstown, Pa., wrote to the Feather Fund in her application. "Ever since I can remember I have loved horses and ponies and been drawn to them. As I learned more about ponies my passion for them grew."

She wrote, "My first grade teacher told me about an island where wild ponies lived. I was soon fascinated by this wild place and read any book I could, both fictional and nonfictional that involved horses and ponies.

Then my family visited Chincoteague."

Geiser said she'd been saving for a pony of her own since she was 11 years old. "I've shoveled sidewalks, mowed grass, raked leaves, walked dogs and babysat," she wrote.

Seventeen-year-old Amy Wetzel of Oberlin, Ohio, wrote, "I've been around horses since I was little and have always been in love with them. It was never a phase because it has not changed since I rode a horse for the first time when I was two. I have been saving since my first pony swim in 2007, because that's when I fell in love with them."

The Feather Fund began helping children purchase foals in 2004. The charity was created in memory of Carollynn Suplee, an angel who visited the auction annually for each of the eight years she survived cancer, purchasing foals for a child.

She said it was her way of "giving back" for the gift of another year of life. When she passed in 2003, the families who had received pony gifts from her joined with her own family to form the charity. They wanted to keep her work alive.

Suplee found feathers often and said she believed they were God's way of telling her she would be OK. She cited Psalm 91:4 which says, the Lord will cover you with feathers and protect you. Before she passed she suggested the name, "The Feather Fund."

This year, "The True Story of Sea Feather" was released by Schiffer Books. Written by Lois Szymanski, it tells the true story of Suplee's first pony gift, a bay and white pinto colt named Sea Feather that was gifted to the author's own daughters in 1995.

When Kathryn and Owen Hooks of the Kite Koop heard the story of the Feather Fund, they offered to help the group raise funds. After brainstorming, they came up with a kid friendly event with a pony twist.

On Tuesday and Wednesday, July 26 and 27, author Lois Szymanski will sign her Chincoteague Pony books at the Kite Koop from 4-6 p.m. each evening. Her books will include "The True Story of Sea Feather."

While there, children who make a donation of at least $5 to the Feather Fund may ride the real Sea Feather who will visit the Kite Koop for the evening.

Come out to meet Chincoteague Pony, Sea Feather and buy a book. What a great way to have a fun time and take home a new pony book to read, while contributing to the charity that makes wild pony dreams come true.

For more information on the event visit the Kite Koop online at: www.kitekoopandbookstore.com.

For information, visit www.featherfund.org and friend them on Facebook.

Source;  http://www.delmarvanow.com/article/20110721/CB01/107210341/Feather-fund-helps-dreams-come-true?odyssey=mod|newswell|text|Chincoteague Beacon|s