You already know intellectually that volunteering is therapeutic and can really improve your outlook and sense of fulfillment. If you have tried volunteering in the past but have not felt the glow that comes from helping others, maybe you have simply not yet found the right place to get involved.
Our volunteers are an amazing group of people. Ages of our Sanctuary volunteers range from 10 years old (with a parent present) to the upper 70's. Universally, the report back from our folks is the feeling they have that they get more back than they give because they make amazing connections to the rescues here. Check out what the Mayo Clinic says about the benefits of volunteering!
Families volunteer together; they tell their friends too. A little clean-up work in the paddocks, plus some one-on-one brushing time with goats and ponies, and general socializing for the well being of the rescues, adds up to a pretty meaningful hour that flies by quickly.
Some volunteers have limited strength or mobility, but we help them work around that here. Students reach out to us with the need to fulfill community service hours, and usually find something unexpected when they discover they want to keep volunteering even after they fulfilled their requirement.
Some of our volunteers have been with us since almost the very beginning of the Sanctuary founding. And others might head off to college, but look forward to coming back between semesters.
We welcome our Sanctuary volunteers because they honestly make a tremendous difference here. Not just the practical down-and-dirty, but by doing something vital with the daily enrichment of our rescues' lives.
Come make a difference in a special rescue's life. You won't know what that feels like until you pitch in and try it!
(Photo above: The Hanley family, volunteering to make the pigs and the feathered friends happy with breakfast delivery)
(Photo below: Volunteer Lisa Pastor, getting a nuzzling from Cash the Minihorse)
