Above: The late Rachel Bungarden enjoyed a therapeutic horseback riding lesson with Angel, her favorite horse, at Riding High Farm in Allentown. Below: Scatter Sunshine, the foundation founded in memory of Rachel Bungarden to assist therapeutic riding programs, created a family room featuring this mural at Riding High Farm. Family starts foundation to raise funds for therapeutic horseback riding programs R achel Ann Bungarden had a joy for life that was contagious.
Her nickname, Sunshine, touches on the bright ray of light she was during her short time on earth. Losing her has been a difficult tragedy for the Bungarden family, but they hope, by starting Scatter Sunshine, to continue spreading Rachel’s joy and her love of horses to other families.
Born on Oct. 23, 1998, Rachel was diagnosed with a 7q35 chromosome deletion. Research suggested she would be severely mentally retarded, bound to a wheelchair, and would not live past the age of 2. Over the years, she faced numerous challenges, surgeries, hospital visits, therapies, school concerns, and interpersonal struggles with a fighter’s spirit, according to her mother, Lisa.
“Her inner strength, bravery and tenacity in the face of insurmountable adversity was inspiring,” Lisa said. “The child who would not walk, not only walked, but ran to keep up with her little brothers. The child who would not talk learned to speak with a talking device and sign language.”
Rachel became a vibrant, wellknown and integrated part of her community. When she was introduced to equine-assisted activities and therapies at the age of 3, she found her passion: horses.
“Her favorite thing in the world was horses,” her mother, Lisa, said. “She just lit up when talking about horses. She called horses ha-has.”
A military family, the Bungardens moved around a lot before settling near the McGuire Air Force Base in Burlington County. When they settled into any new area, they made sure Rachel had access to a therapeutic riding center. When the family moved to New Jersey, Lisa located Riding High Farm in Allentown with the help of the North American Riding for the Handicapped Association.
“Rachel rode here for four years,” Lisa said. “We came weekly. She attended two summer camps. This was her passion.”
“This was her soccer field, her baseball field,” her father, Rich, said, “This is where she came to do kids stuff.”
The instructors at the farm loved Rachel and treated her like family, going so far as inviting her class for a field trip.
“She was in her element,” Rich said. “She had been waiting to share with the class what she did, and they really enjoyed their time here.”
All who knew the smiling little girl who loved horses and had the strength to overcome numerous obstacles since she was born were shocked and saddened when she had a massive stroke that resulted in complications that claimed her life at the age of 11 on Jan. 23, 2010.
“Ultimately, she succumbed to severe brain damage and heart failure,” Lisa said. “While she only spent 11 physical years on Earth, her spirit will live on in all who were blessed to know her. She embodied pure love and kindness.”
In the weeks after her passing, the family thought about how their “little sunshine” brightened so many lives, and they decided to start a foundation in her honor that would help make more people smile. In naming the foundation, they looked no further than the words she had written above her bed — “Scatter Sunshine.”
Her brothers Adam, 10, and Drew, 7, designed the logo for the foundation, which features a sun in the palm of Rachel’s handprint. Her parents decided to use the foundation to raise money for therapeutic riding centers and families with disabled children who cannot afford horseback riding lessons.
Since they started Scatter Sunshine in April, the family has sold over 1,000 T-shirts to benefit the foundation’s causes. The Bungardens attribute the foundation’s success to family members, such as Lisa’s sister Marnie Roth, friends like Loree Tillman, and the people in the community who knew and loved their daughter.
“Here [at the farm] and in our community she was well known,” Rich said. “She was a big personality. Her personality was such that kids would fight to help her. The support in our community and in the schools has been amazing.”
Fountain Woods Elementary School in Burlington dedicated a handicapped-accessible swing at the school to Rachel. Her former school, B. Bernice Young Elementary School in Burlington, dedicated a library shelf to her and placed the Scatter Sunshine logo on the books kept there.
The foundation’s first fundraising event, a pizza and ice cream community night in June, was well attended.
“The community came together for pizza and ice cream to celebrate her life,” Lisa said.
The money raised is being used to develop a family room at Riding High Farm in Allentown.
“The first place we thought of was here where she rode and felt most comfortable,” Lisa said. “Families can come and enjoy the lounge when their children are riding. It will be a comfortable place for them.”
The room, located off the stable at the farm, has a couch, dining table and chairs, coffee maker, water cooler and television. The Bungardens’neighbor, Julian Craig, installed new flooring. Neighbor Rey Mendez painted a mural of Rachel’s favorite horse, Angel, poking her head out of a red stable to see the blue sky. Eleven clouds represent the 11 years of Rachel’s life, and her initials appear on a trinket the horse is wearing. Horseshoes on the stable are dated with Oct. 23, 1998, and Jan. 23, 2010, to note Rachel’s birthday and the day she passed away. A yellow balloon in the sky reminds the family of the 100 yellow balloons they launched in her honor on her birthday last year. A butterfly represents Rachel’s grandmother, Adrienne Ross, who she believed became a butterfly after death.
“Everyone has really been amazing with their generosity and support,” Lisa said. “Of course I would give anything to have her back and not that, but we’ve really seen a lot of true good in people, and it’s nice to see kindness.”
Scatter Sunshine will host an open house and family room dedication at Riding High Farm 2-4 p.m. on April 3. The free event is open to the community, and the Bungardens hope families with children with disabilities will visit to learn more about the benefits of therapeutic riding.
The Bungardens said Rachel’s time at the farm taught her safety measures, responsibility and social skills.
“Kids with special needs don’t make friends easy, because they lack interpersonal skills,” Lisa said. “When they’re around animals, they learn to be gentle. They learn kindness and the idea of taking care of something other than themselves.”
Riding High Farm campers also get to show off their riding skills in an annual horse show, which happened to coincide with Rachel’s birthday each year. She loved winning ribbons and then getting to celebrate her big day.
“The horse show is a place where kids with special needs could be stars and succeed,” Lisa said.
The Bungardens hope to help Riding High Farm continue scattering sunshine into the lives of families with disabled children by giving them a chance to overcome physical and cognitive challenges and recognize their potential.
“I feel her here,” Lisa said. “I hope to be able to share with others how special horseback riding can be for kids with special needs. It helped her to walk. She wasn’t supposed to walk, and did.”
For more information about contributing to Scatter Sunshine, visit www.scatter-sunshine.org. For more information about Riding High Farm, visit www.ridinghighfarm.org or call 609-259-3884.