Volunteer: The reason I got involved with Silver Lining Riding was purely a selfish one. I needed to lose weight and walking (or running) next to a horse all day might give me a bit of exercise. The first day I was assigned to two kids as a side-walker. After the two 1-hour sessions of walking beside the horses, everyone was asking how I was doing. I said, “No Problem” but I couldn’t breathe, I hurt, I was a disaster. But I came back the next week for more.
Remember the kids I was assigned to? Somehow these two boys and I formed some kind of bond. One is non-verbal and the other recites a constant string of TV commercials. But somehow, they got firmly ensconced in my heart. I so enjoyed working with them. And the reward for me is not the weight loss, it is the breakthroughs that the boys and I had almost weekly!
The boy who only recites what he hears on TV learned to say, “Go Shiloh”, or “Turn Shiloh”, or even “Whoa Shiloh”. Sounds like something small right? Nope. It gives his parents a common ground from which to start communicating. It gives him the ability to use his words to control his environment.
What would have happened if I had not started volunteering? This kid might not have found someone he could bond and work with to overcome some of his obstacles in life. Ultimately, we were helping each other and having fun doing it.
Working as a lesson volunteer inspired me to become a member of Silver Lining Riding’s Board of Directors, and I have served on the Board and several committees ever since!