Volunteering
Volunteering is a big deal to me. Since I was in middle school, I have been volunteering in one capacity or another. My volunteering has brought me many places, ranging from soup kitchens for the poor to animal shelters, to therapeutic riding centers helping our war veterans. Here is a short list of my volunteering adventures:
Levitate Music & Arts Festival, Marshfield, MA
In the spring of 2024, I realized I would not have enough money to purchase 3-day tickets to the music festival near my hometown I had attended since 2017. After looking over the festival website for the 100th time, I finally stumbled upon the "Be A Volunteer" tab and realized that was my way into the festival that summer. I submitted my application to be a volunteer and was accepted! With the support and time given by myself and about 400 other volunteers, we helped park cars, check tickets, and raise funds to support access to music, arts, and the outdoors in our community. The Festival Volunteer Crew helps to raise funds for a nonprofit, the Levitate Foundation, and other community organizations including long-term partner, the Boys & Girls Club of Marshfield. I volunteered for a total of 12 hours, 4 hours on each day, checking tickets and giving wristbands to festival goers.
Puppy Raiser for Mutts With a Mission
In the fall of 2022, I decided I needed a dog in my life again. I attended a Puppy Raiser Orientation at a local non-profit called Mutts With A Mission and fell in love with what the program was doing, and of course, the puppies. A few short weeks later, I was matched with "Wise", a 12-week old black Labrador Retriever. From then on, I raised and trained Wise to be a service animal for a wounded veteran, first responder, or law enforcement agency. I attended weekly classes to help train Wise general obedience skills and more advanced, specific tasks such as “touch”, “open”, “take it”, “find it” etc.. I took Wise to various events and locations to familiarize him with crowds, indoor/outdoor settings, and places that the recipient may visits. Sadly, in February of 2024 during the final intensive training prior to being matched with a recipient, Wise was removed from the program, as he had decided he would much rather be a pet than a working dog.
FRG Secretary - USS Bataan
As a member of the USS Bataan FRG Board, in the position of Secretary, I kept meeting minutes, followed up on past meeting agendas, set up online meetings and more. Along with my Secretarial-specific duties, I also helped the Board with homecoming events such as assembling the ship's lei, putting together welcome home bags for new parents and single sailors, and coordinating with local donors when they offered to make donations for homecoming festivities.
CatchAFire.com
Member of a web-based community since 2017 utilizing skilled volunteers and the causes that inspire them. Designed and edited marketing collateral for multiple different non-profit organizations, saving these non-profit organizations a combined total of $25,272.
EquiKids Therapeutic Riding Center - Virginia Beach, VA
In 2010, I came across EquiKids and inquired about volunteering. In the early spring of 2011, I met with the volunteer coordinator and shortly thereafter, began volunteering. I volunteered 2 or more days per week, assisting with therapeutic horseback riding lessons as a horse leader, side walker, or in the barn. I performed activities such as grooming, tacking, and leading horses. Held “Team Leader” position for 3 years, which involved supervising approximately 36 new and returning volunteers weekly, helping train new volunteers and leading by example. I worked directly with approximately 8 riders per week with intellectual or physical disabilities by providing mental and physical support while they were riding. I helped maintain positive relationships with clients, family members and care-givers to foster a positive and helpful environment conducive to emotional and physical growth of each client.
I also assisted riding instructors and performed other barn chores as asked by the Barn Manager and other administrative staff. Barn chores included returning horses to stall or pasture dependent on riding lesson schedule, stall cleaning, pasture mucking, cleaning water and feed buckets, sweeping the barn aisle, setting up feed for 20 individual horses with specific health and nutritional needs, washing and folding laundry and general farm maintenance. I also volunteered at multiple annual fundraising events.
Shepard Meadows Therapeutic Riding Center - Bristol, CT
When I got my first job out of college, I felt the need to get back out and work with horses, something I had been doing up until then. I searched online and found Shepard Meadows and inquired about volunteering my services as a stall cleaner in exchange for exercising the horses. I was quickly "hired" as a volunteer and twice a week I braved the mud, wind, rain, snow, heat and humidity to clean stalls, groom horses, feed and water the horses. I volunteered multiple days per week, assisting with therapeutic horseback riding lessons as a horse leader, side walker and in the barn. Lead approximately 18 volunteers weekly as a Team Leader in grooming and tacking up horses. Taught volunteers how to be a lead walker or side walk in therapeutic riding lessons. Worked directly with approximately 4 clients per week with intellectual or physical disabilities by providing mental and physical support while they were riding. Barn chores included stall cleaning, pasture mucking, cleaning water and feed buckets and general farm maintenance. Assisted with evaluations and training of new horses to the program.
Scituate Animal Shelter - Scituate, MA
From middle school, up through high school, I volunteered time at least twice weekly, to the local animal shelter with my mom. We walked dogs, cleaned dog kennels, cleaned cat litter boxes, fed and watered the animals and socialized the animals. Occasionally, we would be called to help assist the veterinarian giving immunizations or with bathing before a pet was to be adopted out to a new family.
St. Paul's Soup Kitchen - MA
When I was in high school, I volunteered on a weekly basis to serve the homeless in a local soup kitchen.