The Northfield Bank Foundation of Staten Island, NY made a $10,000 grant this past year to NJ’s not-for-profit Team Velvet, Inc. in support of their efforts in helping traumatized children between the ages of 5 and 12 years.

The role of Northfield Bank Foundation, founded in 2007, is to support not-for-profit groups, institutions, schools or other organizations operating in the communities in which Northfield Bank does business - specifically Staten Island, Brooklyn and Central New Jersey. The Foundation focuses its efforts on projects to support education, health and human services, youth programs, and other types of community organizations or civic-minded projects that improve the quality of life around us. The Foundation has given to date in excess of $5 million.

Team Velvet, Inc., founded by psychologist and current director Dr. Susan Edwards, is a non-for-profit 501(c)(3) organization, providing multimodal, non-mounted horse therapy for traumatized children ages 5-12.

Each day there is a child who experiences the death of a loved one, witnesses violence, is victimized by crime or intense bullying, disfigured by an accident or other countless events - all resulting in severe childhood trauma. In the extreme, child trauma may cause flashbacks or blackouts and may make a child want to die. Therapy horses may be involved in interactive games, kick a soccer ball, dance or be taught liberty performance. Children do not ride the horses; they interact while working toward goals of increased self-esteem and resiliency over trauma.

The Team Velvet programs are held at their horse farm in Flemington, NJ. For further information contact Dr. Susan Edwards at 609 924 4330.