I spent the greater part of my day today in "sidewalker" orientation....yep, pretty fun sounding, eh? YOu ask, "what is sidewalker orientation?" It is a volunteer position at a local Therapeutic Horse Ranch. My job will be to walk along side of a horse securing the safety of the rider. The students at this ranch are developmentally or physically disabled and the lessons they receive help them to gain mobility, self-esteem, muscle tone, confidence, and many other therapeutic benefits. The facility is beautiful and is nestled in the midst of town, not too far from my house. I found about this place through Volunteer Match when I was looking for some kind of volunteer opportunity in my area.
My previous post was an essay I recently wrote for school about volunteering and all the benefits people get from giving back. As I am not anywhere near finishing up with school and have begun to get itchy for something to do that would be along the lines of helping people in some kind of 'medical' way, (especially kids) I thought volunteering might fix my need to DO something. I love horses and hope to someday to be a seasoned rider and own my own horse, so I searched Volunteer Match in my zip code with the keyword, Horses....and viola! This opportunity came up.
There are opportunities to do much more at this facility and I am interested in helping any way I can. I even approached them about doing some photography. I am hoping that the photography thing works out because I would love to share with you, gentle readers, the beauty that is horses in action.
They also take in horses as therapy horses (many people in my area have had to give away horses because of the economy and turning the horses over to a therapy center is a way for good horses to get great care and a job).
I've signed up for Thursday afternoons and Saturday mornings, I start this next Thursday. Stay tuned!
Peace
♥
S
4 comments:
that is really cool thanks for the 411 on what you are doing. have had good luck working with kids and animals. particularly dogs. you will have a blast i am sure.
the riding school sabin goes to does handicapped riding lessons. they have an enormous irish cob and the coolest double "saddle," that they use so the instructor rides together with the disabled person, and has the coolest "seatbelt" contraption on for the safety of the person. i've seen two of the folks who ride and the joy they get from being with the horses is so visible on their faces both before and after. horses are good for the soul. it's so cool that you've found such a volunteer opportunity!
this is amazing! so glad to catch up here.
xo
What a wonderful opportunity for you! What a coincidence that this is nearby AND a spot is available to you. You will certainly enjoy this I bet! I'll be eager to see your pictures and hear all about your volunteer experiences.
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