leg up articles

[Guest guest]

11/14/2008 FYI for those who might find this interesting.

I do not get the paper every day so I missed all the articles but I knew

they were going to be coming out. I just wanted to forward them to those of you

who might one day use the center. It looks like we will see it in the near

future!

Holly

For more infor: http://www.legupfarm.org/default.asp

Leg Up Farm Gets $5.6 Million

York Daily Record - Ted Czech

Lou Castriota Jr. said he's waiting for the day when his project of 11

years, Leg Up Farm, will be open, and he'll see children walk through its doors.

" That, to me, is the ultimate moment, (and) that's just around the

corner, " he said.

On Thursday, Castriota's nonprofit organization received two checks

totaling $5.6 million. The money will finance the construction of an

all-inclusive physical and occupational therapy center for children with

disabilities in East Manchester Township.

Castriota, an advertising executive from New Freedom, began planning Leg

Up Farm in 1997 after finding it difficult to shuttle his daughter to

various therapies. , now 12, suffers from mitochondrial disease, a

condition similar to cerebral palsy.

He began speaking with parents and therapists and developed the concept of

having multiple therapies under one roof, making it easier on children and their

parents. In addition, he thought a farm setting would be the most appealing to

children.

Thursday's ceremony saw Leg Up Farm receive $2.8 million from the U.S.

Department of Agriculture and $2.8 from York Traditions Bank, Castriota said.

" It was thrilling that after so many years of work, to know that we're

going to break ground very soon, and we're going to open our doors in early 2010

-- it's just really exciting, " he said.

York County President Commissioner Steve Chronister, who attended the

ceremony, praised Castriota's perseverance, calling him a " phenomenal young man

who wouldn't give up . . . What a great thing for York County. "

News Articles:

11/14/2008 Equine Therapy Facility Finally Gets a Leg Up

York Dispatch - Kathy s

A project 11 years in the making received a leg up Thursday from a

federal agency in the form of a $5.6 million loan.

The cash means Leg Up Farm, a not-for-profit therapeutic facility

for special needs children, will become a reality by January 2010, said Lou

Castriota, Jr., a New Freedom father of four who conceptualized the facility.

Castriota accepted $2.8 million from the USDA Rural Development's

state director, H. Groves, along with a guarantee for an additional $2.8

million loan to be disbursed through York Traditions Bank.

The federal loan is fixed at 4.5 percent for a 40-year term; terms

of the bank loan will not be available until closing, which is slated for

month's end, Castriota said.

The bank also has agreed to finance construction of the

110,000-square-foot-facility and accompanying grounds in East Manchester

Township. The financing was the last -- and most critical -- of Castriota's

11-year effort to bring the facility to fruition.

Previous attempts to secure government money were through state

programs. And for the money from the state, he was competing with such projects

as Sovereign Bank Stadium. Federal officials only began looking at Castriota's

concept within the last two years.

All the money he needs for the project is in place, he said.

Groundbreaking is slated for the first quarter of 2009; Castriota

said all plans and permits have been approved for the 18-acre site at 4248 N.

Sherman St.

Tears, joy: He stood Thursday among friends, family, financiers,

legislators and federal officials dabbing his eyes with a handkerchief, thanking

all who've helped him realize the dream. Castriota formed the nonprofit in 1997

about one year after his youngest daughter , now 12, was born with

mitochondrial disease, which is similar to cerebral palsy.

Initially, he envisioned an equine therapy center for children like

. But as he talked with parents of special needs children, the idea began

to grow until it comprised physical, psychological and social therapies that

could be done in a farm setting.

He spoke with health-care professionals who helped him understand

that there are facilities throughout the state but most stand alone. Leg Up Farm

would offer under one roof therapeutic services as well as programs, education

and advocacy for special needs infants to adults up to age 21 as well as their

families.

Therapists, family, teachers and volunteers would work as a team,

enabling all to compare notes that would ultimately benefit the children they

assist, Castriota said.

Life lesson: The project is something two of his daughters, ,

10, and Olivia, 18, say serves as a life lesson.

" Daddy never gave up, he wouldn't, " Olivia said Thursday after her

father received funding. " He said the community needed it and he was going to do

it. "

Olivia was 8 years old when her father conceived the project;

had not yet been born and says it's all she knows. The girls said every time

they had problems in school or in life, their Dad reminded them of Leg Up, told

them to think about how hard he and numerous others had worked to build it.

The girls soon got into the fundraising mood. Olivia made a donation

every Christmas, one year giving her father the equivalent of 40 hours' pay from

her job at Dunkin Donuts. And raised some $700 for the cause over the

years.

" Until now, we've just been standing out there looking at the

grass, " Olivia said about the site. " Now, there's finally going to be a

building, it's really going to happen. "