Savannah Sawyer
Staff writer
Tomorrow students and members of the community can enjoy live music, fall food and secondhand shopping. Hart College is hosting the From the Hart Fall Festival, with all of the proceeds going to H.O.R.S.E.S., Inc.
H.O.R.S.E.S., Inc. (Helping Others Reach Success using Equine Services), is a therapeutic horseback riding center designed for individuals with physical, mental or emotional challenges. They are a non-profit organization that is run entirely on grants, donations and with the assistance of volunteers.
Sooyeon Kim, senior from Seoul, South Korea, helped organize the event.
“H.O.R.S.E.S., Inc. is among the lesser-known charities in this area, so we thought we would raise more support and awareness about their mission to help autistic children,” Kim said.
Tia Starr, sophomore from Belleville, Ill., said they tried to choose a different organization than ones usually supported by philanthropic groups on campus.
“While (the ones usually chosen) are wonderful causes and appreciate help, we chose one that is not only a great cause, but not as many people are aware of,” Starr said. “Plus, the people we have worked with at H.O.R.S.E.S., Inc. are very thankful and so appreciative that we have chosen them to support.”
The staff at Hart has been working hard since August to make this event happen.
“We especially focused on organizing a yard sale that would meet the needs of both college students and citizens of Murray,” Kim said. “We’ll have furniture, artwork, clothes and whatever you can think of, (so people can shop) while enjoying live music, caramel apple, hot dogs, and face-painting.”
All proceeds from the yard sale, food and activities will go toward H.O.R.S.E.S, Inc. Half of the proceeds from the art sale, sponsored by Murray State art students, will also go to the organization.
The event is free to attend but donations are encouraged.
“We’ll have fun listening to live bands, one of which is the winner of Hart Idol, playing corn hole, and face-painting,” Kim said.
Anyone from the community is welcome to come out to the event. Parking is available at the intramural field lot, Waldrop lot and the lot at Five Points, Kim said.
“The community is invited to enjoy the festival with their kids because many of our programs were planned with younger local children in mind,” Kim said. “Many yard sale lovers from the community might be joyfully shocked to discover such a large-scale yard sale in the midst of residential college complex.”
The event is from noon to 5 p.m. at Hart Residential College.
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