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That\u2019s where the journey began for McDonald. She had plans to go to medical school, become a veterinarian, and later retire and start her own horse rescue. Her journey, however, took an interesting turn.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
After graduating from the University of Tennessee at Knoxville, she attended graduate school. During that time, she was working under a local veterinarian when she learned of some horses that had been abandoned.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThey had noticed that they hadn\u2019t been fed or watered for some time,\u201d she explained. \u201cOne had already passed, and the others had broken through the fence, but luckily survived. So I went and got the horses and rehabilitated them. I then found them homes. Then, after that, came another case and then another. I then realized that there was a huge need for it around here, because our animal control only has resources for dogs and cats.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
After working on her own at her own expense, she completed the nonprofit paperwork and received the thumbs up that her retirement dream was now her new career. She would get the name for the organization from an old journal from her childhood. She had scribbled out her idea for the rescue, with the name \u201cBits and Pieces.\u201d She would also remember something her youth minister told her. Something that has stuck with her and helped her move forward with her dream.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cHe gave us this passage that I wrote down and have always thought about. It said, \u2018Where your passions meet the world’s needs, that’s where you\u2019ll find God,\u2019\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Since becoming a nonprofit in 2007, the rescue has rehabilitated over 350 horses. Currently, the nonprofit is housed out of a barn on the outskirts of Winchester, thanks to a fellow supporter of the organization.<\/p>\n\n\n\n McDonald added that the organization has also been able to purchase an additional property that will allow for the rescue to grow, both in room and offerings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe just purchased a new property out in Belvidere and are super excited,\u201d she said. \u201cThis past year, we started doing equine therapy programs and horse camps. We have a facility out there that is more amenable. It has restrooms and air conditioning, so we can host a lot of things. Also, horses that are ready to be adopted will be there so people can come view them and ride them safely. The horses that are kept in the current barn will be ones that need medication, therapy, or to gain weight.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n And, as if building a nonprofit from the ground up wasn\u2019t enough, she also has two other jobs that she works in order to keep her dream moving right along. The plan is to get to where the nonprofit will be her sole profession. Until then, she is enjoying the journey.<\/p>\n\n\n\n “I had taken the MCAT (Medical College Admission Test) and applied to medical school when I started this,\u201d she said. \u201cI just did a lot of praying and thinking about it. Did I want to give one up over the other? I felt like this was where I needed to be, and we are rocking and rolling. It makes you feel like you are doing the right thing.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n She\u2019s also thankful for her volunteers who have joined her on this journey and credits them for helping to make the nonprofit what it is.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cOur volunteers have been so helpful,\u201d she said. \u201cWe couldn\u2019t do it without them. We have great support from sponsors, local veterinarians, and from the community.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Her long-term goal is to build a community center that offers a host of activities for all ages, that will center around the horses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe want to build a community center that is like an indoor arena but also has classrooms,\u201d she said. \u201cWe want to offer an after-school program where they can do riding lessons until their parents come and pick them up. We would also like to offer women\u2019s enrichment programs and even horse yoga that would allow people to meet adoptable horses.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Now embracing her journey, McDonald said she is exactly where she needs to be.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI feel like everything that God put me through; set me up for this,\u201d she said. GN<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Hannah McDonald is fulfilling a lifelong dream of helping horses with her Bits and Pieces Equine Rescue located near Belvidere.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":9182,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-9169","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-feature"],"yoast_head":"\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/goodnewsmags.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/DSC05746-1024x683.jpg\")
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