Category Archives: Events

Blockbuster Hollywood Thank You!

Thank you for all your support for our first Fundraiser Gala in two years! It was a blockbuster, raising over $122,000, with the help of a huge cast of supporters – gala attendees, sponsors, volunteers, donors, streaming watchers, auction winners, families, staff, wineries, and our entire passionate community. Check out our heartfelt guest speakers and hear Kaleo’s true words – I Am Not A Disability, See Me For My Strengths!

Celebrating our Volunteers & Retiring Instructors/Therapists

We get an opportunity to do something wonderful, put our week in perspective, be a part of a family, we give all our participants a welcoming, safe place to be themselves, we give them a team, a smile, we give them control that they don’t always have in other aspects of their lives …Thank You to our amazing Volunteers! We gathered together for the first time in 2 years to celebrate our amazing Volunteers and give a special send-off to our retiring Instructors…we tried to match their passion, humor, and energy! Thank you to Diablo Foods for a delicious lunch, Loard’s Ice Cream (Orinda) for a show-stopper dessert, and Janet for our Martinelli toasts!

Thank you to our Volunteers who bring “family” to Xen every week…welcoming our participants with a smile, enveloping them with a caring team and an attitude of “be who you are”. And we thank our families and participants for sharing their joy, and our equine partners who teach us how to bring unconditional love.

We Need All of You to Make it Work!

SUMMER FUN at CAMP!

Two groups of campers for a week at Xenophon…jam packed with activities! Of course they rode their favorite Xennie, and also learned how to play Musical Stalls…think musical chairs on steroids! Ride a 1000lb. horse in a circle until the music stops, steering through twist & turns to squeeze into a rectangular space without bumping heads or getting a tail slap!  Our horses were great sports through all the games, including bobbing for apples and painting modern art abstracts with their campers. More paint flowed for their succulent pony planters and everyone’s favorite…tie-dyed camp shirts!

They worked all week on their badge – Horse Sense – about how horses communicate, their body language, and herd dynamics. Not only did they observe our herd and discuss the details, but they all donned ears and tails to act out scenarios and get the feel for typical herd interactions. There was time for creativity each day, plus artwork, games, a photo booth, cooking horse cookies, peer interaction, mic drops, and just being a kid!

As challenges continue, we’re grateful for our parents and donors who made Summer Camp Fun possible! Thank you to all our amazing volunteers who helped share the memories with our campers and bring our plans to life! And speaking of plans, Thank You Rebecca, Jen, Hillary, Lindsay, Barbara, Mimi, Danielle, Rachel, Linda for designing a creative & flexible schedule that kept everyone engaged and the smiles flowing!  

Judy Lazarus, our Founder

A life so beautifully lived deserves to be beautifully remembered. The Lazarus Family would like to invite family and friends to attend funeral services on Thursday, July 15th at 11am, to be held at Santa Maria Church in Orinda. A reception will follow.

In Judy’s honor, the family has set up a memorial fund and if anyone is so inclined, you can make a donation to support Xenophon and continue Judy’s passion to provide life-changing experiences for our vulnerable community.

Support Xenophon through the Judy Lazarus Memorial Fund
You can also mail a check to Xenophon TRC at PO Box 16, Orinda, CA 94563




How did you spend your Spring Break?!

We spent our break diving into a few COVID postponed maintenance work around the center. Of course it was like tackling your own home to-do list, it grew five minutes after starting and as soon as you open the wall you realize that the job is going to be bigger than expected!