The Al & Joyce Vidbel Foundation in a non-profit organization dedicated to bringing differently abled humans and animals together in an effort to connect, understand and heal each other. Not just any circus, he joined The Greatest Show on Earth! His love for animals, particularly elephants, landed him a job, first shoveling, then showing and training the animals that he so admired and loved. Aroun
d the same time that Al ran away, Joyce Lane asked her mother if she could leave her home in upstate NY to travel across the country to Nebraska so she could fulfill her dream of working with horses and learning to trick and roman ride. Soon she was given the opportunity to join The Greatest Show on Earth to show off her skills as an accomplished equestrian. It was surely their sense of adventure and love for animals that destined these two amazing people to create a beautiful love story of both humans and animals! Throughout their life, Al and Joyce traveled the country performing with their animals, while at the same time, creating a horse camp, right on their farm, in the Catskill Mountains, that would be a summer home to dozens of kids from NYC. Today, as campers from the 1950s still call to express their thanks and gratitude for an experience that changed their lives, this 5 generation farm is alive with a heart and soul and is continuing to fulfill its destiny to be a refuge and inspiration to all who visit! The Al and Joyce Vidbel Foundation will open the farm once again and will extend its invitation to differently abled children and adults, humans on the Autism spectrum, and economically disadvantaged children from all walks of life. . Animals, like humans, need a purpose and thrive when engaging in positive human contact so participants will be paired with an animal that matches their personality. Each animal-human partnership will work together to discover what they can accomplish with trust, respect and love for each other.EVERYONE will be welcomed with open arms, hoofs and paws!
