Volunteers are the lifeblood of the program. We could not operate without the dedicated help of our faithful volunteers. There are many areas in which volunteers can find a way to share their talents or learn new ones.
Areas of opportunity are:
Feeders - Our horses need to be fed each morning and night. Feeders help free up the staff's time. Feeders are given a calendar of the feeding schedule and volunteer for slots on the schedule. This can be flexible - if you have an emergency, you may trade with another volunteer feeder. Requires training.
Leaders - The responsibility of the leader is grooming and tacking their horse and instructing other volunteers in the grooming and tacking process. During sessions, they lead and control the mount, while allowing the rider to do as much as possible for themselves. Leaders must be comfortable with horses and have prior experience. Some training is necessary.
Sidewalkers - The primary duty of the sidewalker is the safety of their rider. To ensure the rider's safety, sidewalkers will be given different holds on riders' legs or be told by the instructor to walk beside the horse. Sidewalkers may also be called upon to act as individual coaches to help reinforce instructor's directions by prompting the rider. The degree of assistance from the sidewalker will depend upon the balance of the rider. Sidewalkers assigned to poorly balanced riders must be physically fit. Some training necessary.
Associate Instructor - Associate instructors are individuals-in-training to become instructors and work under the guidance of an instructor. Beneficial skills are riding, horse care, instruction and working with people.
Work Crew - Our work crews are individuals who work on special projects at the facility. These projects include painting, building, cleanup or maintenance.
Green Thumbs - The "thumbs" do yard work, mowing, weed whacking, as well as special projects. A love of the outdoors is all that is required for this position.
Gatekeepers - The keepers of the gate are individuals who patiently open and close arena gates, allowing riders and horses in and out of the arena during sessions, saving volunteers' legs from making extra steps. No special skills required.
Riding Team - In order to keep our therapeutic horses happy and physically fit, we feel the need to have people assigned to each horse to deliver attention and training on a consistent basis. These teams will consist of two people who will groom, clip, ride and give personal attention to their designated horse. Each team will follow the schedule provided by Connections and will become familiar with Connections' procedures for handling horses. Individuals will report progress to the director of the program and requires training and prior horse experience. Do you know what a lead is? What is a jog, a trot? What does suppling mean? What does collection mean? These are concepts riding team members must understand and be able to implement.
Volunteer Committee - Connections needs several people to work on a Volunteer Committee to help organize volunteer training, help plan volunteer events such as potlucks, and get-togethers, help improve the coordination of volunteer assignments, and to be the bridge of communication among staff, board, and volunteers, and help in our volunteer recruitment and retention.
None of the Above - If you don't fit in any of the above categories, that does not mean that you can't become a valuable volunteer to the Connections program. Would you like to help with filing, data entry, phone calling, cleaning the office, work on organizing fundraising events, marketing, advertising, web master, graphic arts, writing, photography, love to cook, help organize volunteer potlucks, help children do art projects in kids' summer camps? If you have any questions regarding your skills and if we have a use for them, please contact us...I bet we will!
WARNING: Volunteer service in Connections may become addictive - you could find yourself spending much more time than anticipated and even becoming a board member!
