“Healing with more horsepower”
RTX volunteers pitch in at Ironstone Farm, where veterans and others gain strength through equine therapy
Shelby Baecker is both a volunteer and a veteran who has benefitted from therapeutic horse riding and other activities at Ironstone Farm in Andover, Massachusetts. “What it really means to me is home,” he said.
The retired U.S. Navy commander works for Raytheon, an RTX. “When we're serving in the military, we find a pretty tightknit home within our units,” Baecker said. “That feeling of community and home is a large part of what Ironstone stands for – a home away from home.”
Lauren Hicks-Ogburn agrees. “I feel connected to the veteran community and to my Raytheon colleagues who volunteer here, too,” she said. Hicks-Ogburn is a U.S. Army veteran, currently serving in the Massachusetts National Guard and working for Raytheon.
She added that “what's really cool about being at Ironstone is knowing that, when you show up every couple weeks, there are at least 20 other colleagues ready to do this for their community.”
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Lauren Hicks-Ogburn (standing, at right) with colleagues, (l-r) Elizabeth Barry and Dona Abou-Chakra of Raytheon, building bases for an HVAC system in the new retreat center. Hicks-Ogburn has been sanding and painting another building, as well: “Whatever’s needed, I try my hand at it. I’ve learned a lot of good skills volunteering at Ironstone. So, it’s a win-win situation.”
Ironstone Farm sits on 20 acres in Andover, Massachusetts. Before the nonprofit Challenge Unlimited bought it in 1983, the farm was a place where racehorses were taken for recovery and rehabilitation. Now, Ironstone Farm offers equine therapy and other services for veterans, first responders, children and teens, cancer patients and survivors, and people with memory issues.
RTX began supporting the farm financially in 2015, and employees have been volunteering there for years – especially since the start of the farmhouse renovation project in 2019.
Among the earliest volunteers: Brendan Hamm, a U.S. Marine veteran who works for Raytheon and is the community engagements lead for RTX VETS, RTX's employee resource group for veterans, their families and supporters.
“Supporting Ironstone Farm is like another mission outside of our former military service. It gives us a purpose,” Hamm said. “It also connects us to RTX’s mission.”
The company’s support is “important and inspirational. To have RTX believe in our mission and our work has meant the world to us,” said Kerri Whalen, executive director of Challenge Unlimited at Ironstone Farm.
“Raytheon’s people always show up, ready to roll up their sleeves and help us get projects done. Without them, that really wouldn’t be possible,” Whalen said.
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Executive Director Kerri Whalen (center) – welcoming volunteers to Ironstone Farm. In 2022, it served over a thousand people, including more than 200 veterans, in therapeutic riding and equine-assisted therapy programs. “When you walk outside and breathe the air, see the beautiful colors of every season and absorb the breathtaking views,” she said. “It’s immediately therapeutic.”
She added that RTX and its volunteers have been key to completing the biggest project in the history of Ironstone Farm since Challenge Unlimited bought it in 1983: construction and renovations to turn the farmhouse into a retreat center where veterans and others can now stay overnight and weekends.
To see how RTX volunteers rolled up their sleeves to make all that possible, here are some of their moments and reflections in the photos below.
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(l-r) Gary Marinelli and Brendan Hamm installed a new window in 2019 after work began on turning the ramshackle farmhouse – which had no electricity or running water – into a retreat center. “It was just bare bones,” said their colleague, Sam Sullivan, adding that “hundreds of volunteers and thousands of hours later, it now has 13 bedrooms, five bathrooms, all modern appliances and plenty of communal space.”
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In addition to volunteering at the farm, retired U.S. Navy commander Shelby Baecker has participated in activities for veterans there. “I joined a lot of informal gatherings and did some equine therapy. To me the renovation of the farmhouse has built a different type of home for our brothers and sisters in arms.”
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(l-r) Kathryn Rolfe, Maria Campechano, Danielle Hamm, Michael Khatchadurian, Jeyanthi Ghatraju and Allison Robatzek – surrounding Axel the horse – recently received training to volunteer as equine therapy guides. For Challenge Unlimited at Ironstone Farm, the motto is “healing with more horsepower.”
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(l-r) Maria Campechano and Jeyanthi Ghatraju have both trained in guiding people through equine therapy, which involves riding skills, horse grooming and drill team experiences. “The real purpose is to provide an opportunity for respite and for healing,” said Whalen. “It’s an alternative to traditional therapy – connecting with the horses helps people connect with themselves and with others.”
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(l-r) Michael Khatchadurian and Kathryn Rolfe will soon be equine guides for visitors. Among them: veterans who are being treated for post-traumatic stress and traumatic brain injury through the intensive clinical program run by the nonprofit Home Base, which RTX also supports. Home Base patients and families have been going on day trips to Ironstone Farm since 2016.
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(l-r) Sam Sullivan of Raytheon and former employee Charlie Orosz, who now coordinates volunteers at Ironstone Farm, joined Challenge Unlimited founder Deedee O'Brien (third from left) at the grand opening of the new retreat center in October 2022. Raytheon volunteer Brendan Hamm and retired Raytheon employee Ralph Acaba, now an Ironstone Farm board member, also took part in the ribbon-cutting ceremony alongside the farm’s Executive Director Kerri Whalen.
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Brendan Hamm with Wes Kremer, president of Raytheon, at the October 2022 grand opening. The newly renovated retreat center is at the heart of the mission of Challenge Unlimited at Ironstone Farm, which strives “to provide therapeutic, educational and recreational opportunities using the resources of the farm and its environment to help all involved experience joy and enhanced quality of life.”
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Now that the retreat center project is finished, RTX volunteers are taking on other tasks at Ironstone Farm, such as painting the barn where 26 horses are housed. Army veteran Lauren Hicks-Ogburn said she plans to continue helping out: “I appreciate Ironstone Farm, RTX and RTX VETS for the opportunity to do this great work and have that connected sense of working together toward a common goal.”
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Navy veteran Tom Thrower (left, with David Petry at right) has retired from RTX. But, after volunteering at Ironstone Farm for over a year, Thrower has no plans to stop, he said: “We’ve got to take care of our own. It’s just the right thing to do.”
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For Brendan Hamm, Ironstone Farm is “a pretty cool family affair. We’re all involved.” Hamm’s wife, an occupational therapist, volunteers there with children who have special needs. Their daughter Dakotah (right photo) has been riding at the farm for about seven years, while son Noah (at left) works alongside Hamm every other Friday when the RTX team goes to volunteer.
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(left) Christine Estes volunteers to support her husband Steve Estes, a U.S. Air Force veteran who works for Raytheon. Both have been helping out for almost five years, Steve said, to “give back to the veterans, give back to the community.” (right) Like many of his colleagues, Manan Langalia said he enjoys “giving back. It's nice to be a part of something bigger than I could do myself.”
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Joseph Anderson has worked many years for Raytheon in Andover, near the farm, and said he likes volunteering alongside his teammates to “give back a little bit. I appreciate the great work they do here, especially for the vets. It’s important to support our veteran warfighters.”
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RTX volunteers have been doing landscaping across Ironstone Farm for a couple years, including outside the retreat center. Now that building is fully renovated, visitors can stay nights and weekends for a “more immersive experience,” Whalen said.
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U.S. Congresswoman Lori Trahan (back row, in burgundy) represents Massachusetts' 3rd Congressional district. She visited Ironstone Farm in November 2020 to recognize the dedication of RTX volunteers, thanking them for “making this retreat home … a special place.”
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A team of volunteers from Raytheon worked on finishing touches at the retreat center in 2022. In a social media post that day, Ironstone Farm’s Kerri Whalen thanked them “for the continued support in making this project possible and for being such incredible ambassadors of our mission.”
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(l-r) Fabrizio Vestri and Erika Brin, completed various “punch list” tasks inside the retreat center. Both Raytheon employees have been volunteering frequently at Ironstone Farm for more than two years.
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When RTX volunteers were moving a beam during renovations at Ironstone Farm, they signed their names on it. Months later, as the retreat center project neared completion, they decided to preserve the signed beam in a plastic frame. It’s now in the kitchen of the farmhouse-turned-retreat center.
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