In 2019, Michal Mael brought a massive geode to the Kino Gem Show.
It weighed thousands of pounds and had a heavy door attached — for everyone who has ever dreamed of being encapsulated by amethyst.
There was a problem, though. Mael, who owns geode decor business Michal & Company, didn't have the manpower to open and shut the door to allow people to sit inside.
"I was with our trader and I was like, 'You gotta know a nonprofit,'" she says, at the time in search of an equine nonprofit that worked with kids with disabilities. She was hoping they could help her manage the giant geode, all while raising money for their mission.
That's when she learned of Therapeutic Ranch for Animals and Kids, a Tucson nonprofit that aims to build and strengthen kids' skills through animal interactions. Mael picked up the phone and called TRAK's co-founder and executive director Scott Tilley.
TRAK co-founder and executive director Scott Tilley pets baby goat Neytiri as McKinley Huddleston holds her. Huddleston works with TRAK, teaching schoolchildren about animals.
"I call and he doesn't answer," Mael says. "I call again and said, 'I have a big geode, can you handle it?' I get no response again. Then I call him up again and say, 'I'm for real, please call me.' Then he calls me and goes, 'What do you want me to do exactly?'"
"When I got the message — she talks very fast. She's from LA and this old country cowboy could hardly understand what she was saying," Tilley says.
But this was the plan: Tilley would open and close the giant geode for gem show attendees and he'd bring some of his animals, too. People would donate to TRAK and get a selfie inside the amethyst — plus, they could hold an adorable baby goat named Chewie.
Chewie, the goat that has made gem show appearances since 2019 when the Michal & Company and TRAK collaboration began, stands beneath an amethyst dragon at the Kino Gem Show on Jan. 31.
Now into 2023, the collaboration is still going strong at the Kino show, 2500 E. Ajo Way. The geode from 2019 has since sold, but there are new selfie stations in its spot. There's a new amethyst geode you can sit inside (dubbed #clamethyst because of it's clam-like shape), in addition to a selenite moon swing and a huge amethyst dragon.
For a $5 donation to TRAK, you can take photos with the shiny backdrops all while holding baby goats Jake and Neytiri (named after the "Avatar" movies). Chewie is all grown up now, but he continues to make his gem show appearance, too. You might also see miniature horses Kiss and Charm, and miniature donkey Smooch.
For a $5 donation to TRAK, you can hold a baby goat while sitting inside a giant amethyst.
Tilley's fundraising goal is $15,000 to go toward the nonprofit's general fund, especially for hay bales that have recently doubled in price. TRAK raised $10,000 in 2019.
Though Tilley was initially hesitant about Mael's proposal back in 2019, it was her persistence that convinced him. When she was able to visit the ranch with her two children who have autism, everyone fell in love with the space.
McKinley Huddleston holds baby goat Neytiri on a selenite moon swing at the Kino Gem Show on Jan. 31.
"We just had this connection instantly — maybe we're sister and brother from another mother or a past life," Tilley says.
Mael is now a TRAK board member and has since moved her company to Tucson.
"(Donations) help so much, for the children and the animals and keeping the ranch up and running for those kids," Mael says. "The amount of work Scott does for the people of Tucson is incredible."
Lilet Cabahug pets Chewie at the Kino Gem Show on Jan. 31.
"We need more collaboration in the (gem show) community," she says. "We come in here and we go to the hotels and we go to the restaurants, but what are we doing, really, for the community? I wanted to open that up. And I wanted it to be a community in Tucson, not so big where people don't see where the money goes."
"What a better way to raise money for kids?" Tilley says. "We're out here having fun, looking good, feeling good and doing good for the community."
Find the TRAK animals at the Michal & Company booth at the Kino Gem Show, 2500 E. Ajo Way (booth T7 on this map). The animals will be there from about 10 a.m. to about 4 p.m. daily through Sunday, Feb. 12.
Donate to local nonprofit TRAK and you'll be able to snap a photo with a baby goat, all while sitting inside a giant amethyst, at the Kino Gem Show at Kino Sports Complex.
