Thank you for visiting NovatoSpirit,
a nonprofit dedicated to strengthening children in-need through sports.
After 18 years of helping kids enjoy movement and mentorship,
we’ve closed our doors
but our mission lives on.

Our mission has been highlighted in Movement and Mentorship: Healing Kids through Sports, a book by NovatoSpirit Founder and Executive Director Marian Huntington showing how sports can positively shape children’s lives.

This positive impact was possible thanks to the generous support of our athletic mentors, volunteers, community partners, and donors—who stretched and sacrificed for the benefit of our youngsters.

Physical fitness activities are expensive—well beyond the financial reach of many families—so NovatoSpirit was founded to remove all hurdles to high-quality sports offered by professionals in Novato, Marin County.

Although Marin is one of the wealthiest counties in California, poverty is present everywhere, including Novato, where it afflicts about 3,000 children. Poverty can also magnify health problems, so many kids here struggle with ailments like asthma, diabetes, motor-skill difficulties, speech delay, anxiety, and depression.

From 2005-2023, NovatoSpirit offered each child 5-year sports scholarships, enabling hundreds of kids to move through various challenges over the years. Experienced athletic mentors offered instruction in an equitable, empathic way as our kids flexed new muscles. Our leadership team included Mr. Robert Ito of Ito’s White Tiger Kempo Karate Tai Chi Chuan; Master Myong O of Kyung Ki Taekwondo; Tara-Caprice Broadwater of Love2Dance; Soccer Coach Diane Ascher; and Heather Parker of Hooves for Harmony.

Like NovatoSpirit, Hooves for Harmony is a 501c3 public charity created to offer therapeutic horseback riding to children in-need and those with special needs at no cost. Hooves for Harmony also shares NovatoSpirit’s commitment to helping kids learn in a safe and supportive environment.

Although NovatoSpirit has closed, its mission continues onwards amongst the gentle horses of Hooves for Harmony located at the pastoral edge of Novato’s Morning Star Farm.

Now Marian Huntington and her palomino horse Spirit join Heather Parker and her Hooves for Harmony volunteers every week to offer children an experience of connection and comfort with their equine companions.

KTVU Channel 2 television has featured Hooves for Harmony in one of their “Zip Trips” and you can watch it by clicking on this link: https://www.ktvu.com/video/1266201

Please help our kids, get involved by lending a hand, or donate!
For more information, please visit us at www.HoovesforHarmony.org

Thank you for your consideration—we look forward to hearing from you!