Over the past two years, I have struggled to find meaning volunteer work to which I would be able to commit. I think it's important to give back to the community, but I also think it's necessary to be able to stick with whatever you sign up for.
Two weeks ago, I went through training to become a therapeutic horsemanship volunteer at Achievement Centers for Children. The therapeutic riding program is for children and adults with special needs.
So far, my experience has been wonderful. It's a commitment of one hour per week on an evening when I rarely have to work late, and there's nothing that needs to be done outside of that one hour. I show up at the barn, sign in, greet my rider, stay by his or her side through the class, say goodbye, sign out and go home.
Not only do I leave with a good feeling of having helped someone, I also leave knowing I've just had an hour's worth of exercise! And it is most amazing to watch the students in the riding class. My class has 4-6 students, some as young as three years old. In the short time I have been with them, I have seen that "disabled" is a misnomer. I now understand why some people encourage use of the term "differently-abled." This is a much more accurate description of the abilities of these children.
It's also quite fun to be interacting with horses on a regular basis. I enjoy being around these beautiful, gentle animals. I never realized that horses yawned or tripped - not from difficult terrain, but from tiredness or laziness! Some days they don't feel much like picking up their feet either - I can certainly relate.
So I feel pretty good about how I am spending my time these days. Hope you do too.
Cindi
Two weeks ago, I went through training to become a therapeutic horsemanship volunteer at Achievement Centers for Children. The therapeutic riding program is for children and adults with special needs.
So far, my experience has been wonderful. It's a commitment of one hour per week on an evening when I rarely have to work late, and there's nothing that needs to be done outside of that one hour. I show up at the barn, sign in, greet my rider, stay by his or her side through the class, say goodbye, sign out and go home.
Not only do I leave with a good feeling of having helped someone, I also leave knowing I've just had an hour's worth of exercise! And it is most amazing to watch the students in the riding class. My class has 4-6 students, some as young as three years old. In the short time I have been with them, I have seen that "disabled" is a misnomer. I now understand why some people encourage use of the term "differently-abled." This is a much more accurate description of the abilities of these children.
It's also quite fun to be interacting with horses on a regular basis. I enjoy being around these beautiful, gentle animals. I never realized that horses yawned or tripped - not from difficult terrain, but from tiredness or laziness! Some days they don't feel much like picking up their feet either - I can certainly relate.
So I feel pretty good about how I am spending my time these days. Hope you do too.
Cindi
1 comment:
I'd like to volunteer to be the uniform collector in the Av's locker room...specifically for Mr. Forsberg...now how does one get in to this sort of volunteer work??? I have the feeling I'd feel much gratification for a job well done. :-P
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