Holmdel woman loved Wall nonprofit therapy farm. So she paid off their $1.8M mortgage.
The first time Mary Ellen Harris visited Allaire Community Farm, a nonprofit sanctuary launched in 2013 to help people and animals, she thought, “nice idea, but this is never going to work.”
Then Harris went back a few years later, in 2019, at the behest of a friend. And she was impressed. Not only had the charity gotten off the ground — the 25-acre farm on Baileys Corner Road in Wall is home to rescued horses, goats, pigs, donkeys and other animals that participate in therapeutic programs for people — but something struck a chord with her.
“The animals were incredible,” Harris said. “The goats would come up to you and they had names like Jack and Jill. The horses were wonderful. It was the most loving bunch of animals I had ever come across.”
The Holmdel resident was so moved that she decided to sponsor the farm’s equestrian operations with a $330,000 donation. Less than a year later, she informed its founders that she would be paying off the farm’s $1.8 million mortgage.
Allaire Community Farm: COVID memorial removed from Belmar beach finds permanent home in Wall
The gifts were bestowed by the Golden Dome Foundation, a philanthropy founded by Mary Ellen and her late husband Robert Harris — a pharmaceutical titan who helped Advil attain over-the-counter status and developed the epilepsy treatment drug lacosamide.
“The farm truly incorporates everything near and dear to Mary Ellen and her husband — helping people and animals,” said Judith Lolli, the friend who introduced her to the farm.
Now her husband’s name will be part of the endeavor. Allaire Community Farm is putting the finishing touches on the Dr. Robert H. Harris Equestrian Center, with a ribbon cutting on tap for January. The center includes a 20-stall horse barn bearing Robert Harris’ name, plus an annex for washing and grain storage, an 11,000-square-foot indoor riding rink and an outdoor riding area.
The equestrian center and the farm offer year-round therapeutic and educational programs, including:
A HOPE program for young adults with special needs who have aged out of school and are seeking employment training.
Therapeutic riding for military veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder.
An opportunity for teens with mental-health challenges to work with animals on the farm for a stipend.
Allaire Community Farm: Kids' club promotes healthy eating and Monmouth farms
“A lot of people support us, but what (Mary Ellen Harris) did goes above and beyond anything we could ever have hoped or imagined,” said JoAnn Burney, who co-founded Allaire Community Farm along with her husband Sean Burney. “Now we are able to purchase more therapeutic horses and hire more staff, more trainers, more teachers and skill instructors for our HOPE program. And we expanded our program for special-needs high school kids. We will always be grateful to her.”
Harris’ philanthropic reach is extensive, from No Limits Café in Middletown, (which employs a staff of adults with special needs) to Bayshore Medical Center in Holmdel (which features the $48 million Dr. Robert H. Harris Emergency Care Center) to the Hazlet-based RAINE Foundation (which assists children and families in crisis). On Tuesday she’ll be riding with RAINE’s “Santa Claus Army” as it delivers gifts to families along the Monmouth County Bayshore.
The fruit of her support of Allaire Community Farm was on display Wednesday, during the farm’s annual Christmas light show fundraiser. The Burneys invited 500 children with autism and their families to attend through the Brick-based POAC Autism Services.
Harris family philanthropy: Painless brain surgery? Jersey Shore hospital's tumor-fighting machine makes it possible
“In the past, we had to charge (POAC) for that,” JoAnn Burney said. Now, without a mortgage to pay, they don’t.
That’s exactly the kind of impact Harris hopes to have.
“When you help someplace like that,” she said, “you help everybody.”
For more information on Allaire Community Farm, visit www.allairecommunityfarm.org.
Jerry Carino is community columnist for the Asbury Park Press, focusing on the Jersey Shore’s interesting people, inspiring stories and pressing issues. Contact him at jcarino@gannettnj.com.
This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: Donor pays off Wall nonprofit Allaire Community Farm's $1.8M mortgage
