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Saturday’s benefit at Rock Ranch in Hills is about more than raising money, according to Kris Van Der Brink, who is organizing the event to benefit two families.
“I’ve been in both of those two families’ spots,” said Van Der Brink, Luverne.
She was referring to cancer and a spouse’s unexpected death at a young age.
In the years since, she found solace and an outlet for her horse-loving daughter, Kellie, in the 4-H horse project, through which she met the Ehlers and Fey families.
Mark and Lisa Ehlers of Luverne both faced recent cancer diagnoses. Mark underwent successful surgery in January.
“Lisa barely got done ringing the bell when Mark was diagnosed,” Van Der Brink said.
(The late?) Tanya and Wyatt Fey of Woodstock are adult volunteers with the Southwest Minnesota 4-H Western Heritage, a program within the horse project.
Tanya, 37, died at home in November from a horse-involved accident.
“I know what Wyatt is going through — missing someone sitting across from the table,” Van Der Brink said.
Her journey started more than a decade ago, when her husband, Mike, was diagnosed with cancer. While he underwent months of treatments, they worried about finances, lost work time and the demands of raising a family. Mike died in 2005.
Proceeds from Saturday’s benefit will be split evenly between the two families with no stipulations on how the money is to be spent.
“It is for them to use on whatever they need even if it’s hospital bills, regular bills, gas, food,” Van Der Brink said.
She knows from experience even the smallest gifts can have big impacts.
“I remember when we received an anonymous gift card and used it for gas after we discussed how we were going to get to Rochester,” she said.
Van Der Brink also understands everyday demands also hinder donors as well.
She announced months ago the Tack Swap Benefit would be a free-will donation event, giving everyone time to clean out closets and make other preparations for the benefit.
The 4-H and Western Heritage families are organizing a food stand and silent auction.
Individuals are organizing booths to sell items and/or services with a percentage of the sales benefiting the Ehlers and Fey families.
Educational stations are also planned for those who attend Saturday’s event, even if they are not directly involved in 4-H or the horse program.
Being a member of a group helped the Van Der Brink move forward after Mike’s death.
A 4-H family introduced Kellie to her first horse, and since then various horse project activities have developed into family-like support and atmosphere for the mom and daughter.
More importantly, the animals have been therapeutic.
“You can tell your horses all your problems,” Van Der Brink said.
The animals’ responses were always the same, “We’ve got it taken care of.”
The Tack Swap Benefit is a come-and-go event from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Rock Ranch, 355 40th Ave., Hills.