BERNARDSTON — Courageous Strides, a therapeutic riding program, is holding its second annual spaghetti supper on Saturday, March 23, to raise money for its scholarship fund.

Since 2019, Courageous Strides has provided equine-assisted activities to military veterans and individuals recovering from emotional and physical trauma. The program will run from April through October this year, and Deb Gordon, president and instructor at Courageous Strides, hopes the spaghetti supper will help make the program cheaper for students.

“All of the proceeds go to the scholarship fund,” Gordon said. “Everything that is raised after our expenses goes right to that.”

For $20, guests can expect a spaghetti dinner with meat sauce, salad, garlic bread and dessert at the Greenfield Masonic Lodge, 215 Munson St., from 5 to 7 p.m. In addition, attendees can participate in a 50/50 raffle.

Anyone who is interested in outdoor camping equipment can partake in Courageous Strides’ silent auction for the chance to win items that were donated last year, such as a Coleman portable grill, a kayak and sleeping bags.

The program will also have order forms for people to buy Courageous Strides apparel.

“At the fundraiser, we’re going to have some samples that the team is going to be wearing ... like a long-sleeve shirt, a unisex long shirt, a regular T-shirt, a women’s tank top and then sweatshirts,” Gordon said. “It’s another avenue for us to try and bring awareness to the public to raise funds.”

Through donations and fundraising events, Courageous Strides collected $4,383 for veterans to participate in the program, and another $4,729 to support non-veterans and more, by the end of 2023.

Greenfield resident Patti Rackham became a student at Courageous Strides last year to help with her depression. She received a scholarship that covered 50% of the program’s cost. This meant that instead of paying $55 an hour to participate, Rackham was paying roughly $27 an hour.

“There were several factors in my life. ... I had to declare bankruptcy, I filed for divorce, and then I found out I had lung cancer and I had cancer surgery. ... When I got home I found out one of my oldest dogs got sick and I’ve been working with him for the last six months to get him better ... and then I went on to have breast surgery,” Rackham recounted. “But I had joined the program after I healed from lung cancer because I was so down. No confidence, no self-worth.”

Working with Courageous Strides’ horse Foxy, who experienced trauma of her own after an encounter with barbed wire before she became one of the program’s therapy horses, has helped Rackham emotionally through groundwork activities and quiet bonding time.

“It helps you release the emotions that you need to release,” Rackham said about the program. “What [the horses] are teaching us is to be a leader. So we carry it out into the world.”

After being in the United States Air Force for four years, Lori-Lee Adams from Turners Falls felt it was time to join the Courageous Strides program because of the pressure she was feeling from living in an area that she said doesn’t have a lot of interaction between civilians and the military.

“Sometimes it’s difficult,” Adams said. “And having Deb [Gordon] talk about Courageous Strides and everything, it was really kind of encouraging for me that maybe this is a spot where I fit in.”

Adams was awarded a 50% scholarship last year, but Gordon hopes that Courageous Strides can raise enough money through fundraising events like the spaghetti supper so military veterans especially can receive full-ride scholarships.

“Our goal last year was to do as much as we could to get [money] off. ... Fifty percent [scholarships] I was very happy with. ... We want to get 100% [scholarships] for veterans,” Gordon said. “I’m very humbled. I had a vision last year and it exceeded what that vision was. I’m really looking forward to this year. April can’t come soon enough.”

People can purchase tickets for Saturday’s spaghetti supper by calling Gordon at 413-522-0956 or emailing courageousstrides@gmail.com. More details about the program can be found at courageous-strides.org.