Ironstone Farm event always up to Challenge
By Chris Camire, ccamire@lowellsun.com
Updated: 11/26/2008 11:08:31 AM EST
ANDOVER -- Each week, Mary Denise McCarthy is picked up at her Lowell home and driven to Challenge Unlimited at Ironstone Farm.
She spends the entire day volunteering her time -- leading horses, helping kids and keeping the farm tidy.
McCarthy, 60, has come to define everything that Challenge Unlimited, a nonprofit that offers horse-riding therapy to people with an array of physical, emotional and cognitive disabilities, stands for.
"We always miss her when she doesn't come," said Deedee O'Brien, Challenge Unlimited's executive director.
On Saturday night, McCarthy accepted one of three awards given by Challenge Unlimited at Ironstone Farm during its 6th annual Spirit of Giving gala at the Andover Country Club.
Honored along with McCarthy were philanthropist Ed Stevens of North Andover, and Children's Hospital pediatrician Dr. Allen Crocker of Natick.
The event raised more than $130,000 for Challenge Unlimited. McCarthy has helped the non-profit raise money for many years.
Challenge Unlimited compiles a yearbook to help raise money, and McCarthy faithfully hits the streets of downtown Lowell to ask business owners to buy ad space.
"They talk about grassroots fundraising," said O'Brien. "It doesn't get anymore grassroots than that."
McCarthy was given the second Joann Weber Foundation Award. The award honors the late Joann Weber, who, along with her husband Drew, were co-owners of the Lowell Spinners minor league baseball team.
O'Brien said McCarthy, who suffers from epilepsy, has a lot in common with Weber.
"She's somebody who has to face obstacles in her life but does it without making it about themselves," said O'Brien. "She's spent her life making everyone else happy and feeling good. That's how Joann was and that's how Mary Denise is."
Stevens, who owns Ames Textile Corp. in Lowell, was honored for helping Challenge Unlimited purchase Ironstone Farm, a process that began in the late 1990s. Crocker was honored in part for his advocacy on behalf of children with Down syndrome.
Ironstone Farm, now with 18 acres, hosts about 450 riding clients a week, most of whom have a disability.
Through riding and a personal connection with its horses, Challenge Unlimited helps children and adults from more than 90 cities and towns throughout Massachusetts and New Hampshire work toward improving physical and emotional conditions.
450 Lowell Street - Andover, MA 01810 978-475-4056 Fax 978-475-4046
E-mail: Info@ChallengeUnlimited.orgCopyright © 2009 Challenge Unlimited
