An Evening Of Hope: Walk With Me Healing Steps Gala Returns Saturday

This weekend, boots, bowties and a belief in healing will come together for a special evening in the North Carolina foothills.

Walk With Me Healing Steps will host its annual Western Skies and Healing Ties Gala on Saturday, September 12, at the Waldensian Heritage Venue in Valdese, N.C,

The gala will raise awareness and support for an organization doing important work for individuals, families and veterans throughout the region.

Founded by Jen Bandy, Walk With Me Healing Steps provides equine-assisted and nature-based counseling, coaching and wellness services from its farm in Conover.

Instead of limiting therapy to conversations inside a traditional office, the organization gives participants opportunities to work alongside horses and engage with the natural world. Those experiences can help people recognize patterns in their relationships, build confidence, manage difficult emotions and begin healing from trauma.

Horses respond honestly to the people around them. They notice body language, tension, uncertainty and confidence. That immediate response can reveal things that are difficult to recognize - or put into words - in a conventional setting.

The work is hands-on, personal and built around relationships.

Walk With Me's mission is to make these services available regardless of a person's financial circumstances. The organization offers sliding-scale fees and scholarship opportunities so that a lack of insurance or a high deductible does not have to prevent someone from receiving help.

Veterans have been an especially important part of the organization's mission.

Through its veterans programming, particularly Operation Battle Horse, Walk With Me helps former service members navigate challenges that can accompany the transition from military service to civilian life. The work focuses on relationships, trust, identity and the sense of camaraderie that many veterans miss after leaving the military.

Army combat veteran Joe Nash previously told Carolina In Our Minds that working with horses had taught him patience, perspective and peace. He said the camaraderie offered is a huge part of the experience.

Programs like these create something that can be difficult to find elsewhere: a place where veterans can be around people who understand them, build new relationships and move forward without judgment.

Scott Pendleton is a success story. He’s happy to share his story, and share how the programs at Walk With Me have helped him.

Walk With Me also serves women, young people, couples and others facing anxiety, depression, trauma, isolation or significant life changes.

Saturday's gala is both a celebration of that work and an opportunity for the community to help it continue.

The Western Skies and Healing Ties Gala will bring supporters together for an evening inspired by Western hospitality and the healing connections at the center of the organization's mission.

The event runs from 6 to 11 p.m. on Saturday, September 12, 2026, at the Waldensian Heritage Venue. The venue is roughly half an hour from Hickory and is easily accessible to supporters from across the foothills.

Guests are encouraged to embrace the occasion's Western spirit. It is an evening where denim and boots can stand comfortably alongside evening wear, and where celebration serves a purpose larger than the event itself.

Local singer-songwriter Michael Cansler is also scheduled to appear as part of the evening's entertainment.

Mental-health needs do not disappear because someone lacks insurance, cannot afford a deductible or is uncomfortable walking into a traditional counseling office. That’s why organizations like Walk With Me Healing Steps matter.

The gala provides an opportunity to enjoy an evening with friends while helping the organization continue offering scholarships, maintaining its programs and caring for the horses that make its work possible. Every ticket, sponsorship and contribution helps create another opportunity for someone to take a meaningful step toward healing.

Sometimes, that first meaningful step happens in a quiet pasture, standing next to a horse that responds without expectation or judgment.

This Saturday night, the community can help make more of those moments possible.

For current ticket availability and additional information, visit walkwithmehealingsteps.com