![]() ![]() I was without a business plan and without funding outside of my small personal life savings, but with a growing demand for the services, I was providing to my community. I had never studied business, let alone how to start and run a successful nonprofit, but I found myself doing just that. I had studied kinesiology for undergrad before receiving my Doctorate of Physical Therapy from Northwestern in 2014 and my Hippotherapy Clinical Specialty in 2017. I always say it was supposed to be my weekend “passion project” but after less than a year of working three part-time jobs while voluntarily trying to keep up with the word of mouth referrals for S&T, I had to take the plunge and go for it full time. Word also spread of my background in Hippotherapy or using the horse as a tool in therapy, and so my personal horse, Biscuit, was my first member of the team. ![]() Lucky for me, the smiles and positivity that come from my patients during therapy sessions is infectious, which lead to a lot of recognition and new patients signing up quicker than I ever expected. It was clear the potential surfing had to help improve the lives of these kids, as well as the lives of countless others. After only one day in the water, I observed less seizure activity and heard more language from the two patients. I had two kiddos ready to try surfing – one with Angelman’s Syndrome who loved water so much he thought drowning me sounded like the best plan ever, and a sassy little girl with down syndrome who was so stoked when she was gliding down the face of a wave, that she would let the entire line-up know her disappointment any time we missed a wave. The organization started with the mission to “better lives through nontraditional therapeutic activities” and the original team was myself and a few foam surfboards I picked up second hand. As a pediatric physical therapist, I saw a need for community integration and inclusion, as well as opportunities for individuals with disabilities to experience a wider range of activities, which lead me to start the nonprofit in 2018. Surf and Turf Therapy was founded from a passion and enormous desire to fill a niche with which humanity seemed to be overlooking. Along the way, I also learned how to surf and began to see a lot of parallels between sitting astride a horse and sitting astride a surfboard, which lead me to think about how to incorporate surf into treatment sessions. Over the next 20 years, I spent time as a special needs 4-H leader and a volunteer at various therapeutic centers. Īt nine years old, I started volunteering my horse to be used by children with disabilities at local 4-H shows during our lunch breaks. Hi Jillian, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself. Today we’d like to introduce you to Jillian Stewart.
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