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:
FRG Secretary - USS Bataan
As a member of the USS Bataan FRG Board, in the position of Secretary, I have kept meeting minutes, followed up on past meeting agendas, set up online meetings and more. Along with my Secretarial specific duties, I have 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 offer 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. Recently 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, when I married my long-time boyfriend, he was in the Navy and was told he would be moving to Virginia. Before I even started to look for a place for us to live, or even a job for myself, I started researching horse barns to ride at. 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 clients 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 mother. 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.