86 SIDELINESMAY 2014
FORHORSEPEOPLE • ABOUTHORSEPEOPLE
Timmy (inblack) plays for theTuffRider polo team.
PhotobyAlexPacheco
As an activemember of the polo community, Timmy
has helped equestrianbrandsEquineCouture, Henri de
Rivel andTuffRider better cater to the needs of riders.
Photo courtesy of TimmySharma
Youhave your hands full withpolo and your business, yet
youandLauriehavealso impressivelyset aside the timeand
energy to have an unbelievably positive impact through the
SalvationTreeSchool.What prompted you to start Salvation
Tree?
Wehadhosteda luncheon inMay 2010 for our employees and
their families. It was verymoving to see the children, who seemed
just as capable and smart as those who went to good schools,
being denied access to any sort of meaningful education. It
becameapparent that unlesssomethingwasdone, thesechildren
wouldnever beable tobreak out of their socio-economic captivity
and would never hope to achieve more than their parents. The
opportunity to make this generational impact was very real and
evident right in our own business.
Why is theSalvationTreeSchool so important to you?
We are most blessed to have an opportunity to enable life-
changing transformation inmany families.What started out as an
education endeavor has blossomed into a far bigger and deeper
cause. Apart from seeing the children showing signs of difference
in their attitude, behavior, motivation and skills, we are always
moved to see the deep sense of gratitude. The parents of the
childrenareequally impactedandunderstand their responsibilities
asparentsandcitizens farmore thancouldever beexpected from
their peers.
Wheredo you see theSalvationTreeSchool infive years?
Howcanothersget involved?
At the moment we have outsourced the running of the school
to a very committed educational institution that has developed
the skills required to give world-class education to students who
come fromunderprivilegedbackgrounds.Wehavegrown from40
to200students in less than four years, andweare looking togrow
to250 students for the next academic year starting inApril.
We hope to have a school campus on at least two-and-a-half
acres of land with a modern facility that imparts education from
pre-kindergarten to twelfth grade.
Also in2019, wewill haveour first graduating class.We cannot
wait to see how these children will be getting ready for higher
education to college or specialized vocational schools.
As far as getting involved, riders can keep shopping Equine
Couture, Henri deRivel andTuffRider! Every time they buy these
brands, they are helping give back to the kids, and it really brings
things full circle. Apart fromdonating toour 501(c) 3 trust, wealso
always welcome ideas on how to run our school better. Should
any of our benefactors want to visit the school, we can arrange
personal visits.
Salvation Tree School is very different from many other
education foundations in that we have a very tangible connection
with the childrenwhose lives are being impacted in ameaningful
way. Photos and names of all the students are available on our
web siteSalvationtree.org.
