When Staying in Your Lane Is the Work 🛤️
Cheyne Ranch and Organizational Neutrality
If you've spent time with me, you may know that I grew up deeply shaped by the values and culture of Alcoholics Anonymous. Not as someone in recovery myself, but as a child in a family where AA was a way of life. I attended more meetings than I can count. One of the things that stayed with me is the AA Preamble, read at the opening of every meeting:
…not allied with any sect, denomination, politics, organization or institution; does not wish to engage in any controversy; neither endorses nor opposes any causes.
That commitment is not weakness or indifference. For nearly ninety years, AA has navigated wars, political upheaval, and cultural change, including moments that demanded moral response. Throughout that time, that choice has been a discipline, not an absence of conviction.
I do not come to neutrality naturally. Keeping Cheyne Ranch out of public controversy is a deliberate choice, one I return to often. I think about that principle when I think about this work.
From time to time, volunteers or community members ask whether Cheyne Ranch can publicly support a political or religious cause that matters deeply to them. I understand why they ask. People care about the world and want the organizations they love to reflect what they care about.
But the discipline of neutrality exists for a reason.
The Work We Are Here to Do
Our mission is to teach animal care and connection in a safe, inclusive, and accessible community. Everything we do is aimed at helping individuals of all abilities build confidence, form meaningful relationships, and grow life skills they can carry with them.
That mission depends on trust and belonging. For families to feel safe here, they need to know this is a place focused on their child, not on political alignment. That includes families with different backgrounds, beliefs, and perspectives. Maintaining that focus is part of how we live out our mission every day, and it shapes how we use, and do not use, our organizational voice.
Our Values Are Not Neutral
Cheyne Ranch is not neutral about human dignity. We believe every person has inherent worth and deserves safety, respect, and the opportunity to grow. We believe inclusion is not optional, and that accessibility and care are responsibilities, not favors.
These values guide how we treat students, families, volunteers, and animals. They shape our policies, our safety practices, and the way we respond when someone in our community is harmed or excluded. What we choose not to do is translate those values into public political positioning. We live them through our work rather than declaring them through statements.
Focus Is Not the Same as Silence
Some organizations are meant to speak directly to political conditions or policy decisions. Their mission requires it. Cheyne Ranch has a different role. Our responsibility is to provide a safe, steady, and effective program for students with disabilities and their families. Staying organizationally neutral allows us to keep our attention where it belongs.
Remaining neutral on political issues helps protect what makes this work possible. It protects access, because students come to us from families across the political spectrum and every child deserves to belong here. It protects trust, because our work requires collaboration and shared responsibility, and division undermines that. And it protects our longevity, because political moments pass and the need for adaptive riding and inclusive spaces does not.
What This Means in Practice
Cheyne Ranch does not take public positions on political issues or current events as an organization. Individuals are free to care deeply, to learn, to speak, and to advocate in their own lives.
When you are here at Cheyne Ranch, what unites us is not political agreement. It is our shared responsibility to students, families, animals, and one another.
If you are new here, welcome. Bring your care, your effort, and your commitment to students. Keeping this organization centered on its mission is one of the most meaningful ways we can serve.
Sally Ann Cheyne
Founder & President
Cheyne Ranch, Inc.
nonprofit 501(c)(3)
Located in Oviedo, FL
Call / Text: (407) 205-7744
email: Sally@CheyneRanch.com
Website: www.CheyneRanch.com
Facebook: facebook.com/CheyneRanch
Instagram: instagram.com/CheyneRanch
Our mission:
We teach animal care and connection in a safe, inclusive, and accessible community where people of all abilities grow in confidence, develop life skills, and form meaningful relationships.
Please donate and help us with our mission: chra.us/donate
