My Dearest Volunteers,
Can you believe it?
Somehow, another year has passed us by. It has been a wonderful year for us at Project R.I.D.E. We are serving more students in more lessons than ever before, our herd of therapy horses has grown, and our fundraising events, grant awards and private donations all surpassed our expectations. We couldn’t have done any of it without your help – approximately 25,000 hours of your help, to be exact!
I hope you know how much your effort is truly appreciated. Every time you make a commitment to another month’s worth of sidewalking shifts; every time you sign up for additional time to cover a gap, every time you drop in just to see if we need anything, every raffle prize you wrap or mailing you stamp makes it possible for our 440 students to receive the benefits of therapeutic horseback riding. In fact, there are days when your generosity and kindness quite literally moves our staff to tears.
On behalf of the horses, the cats, the human staff, our students and the Project RIDE Board of Directors, we thank you from the bottom of our hearts.
Just a reminder – the barn will be completely closed from December 19th through January 2nd . There are no volunteer shifts available and the gates will be locked!
We would really love to have your help for the first week of January. Lessons begin January 3rd and continue with our normal schedule. You’ll notice that we have no lessons from the 13th – 17th for the Crab Feed and Martin Luther King Day holiday. Although we are not participating in the Hands On Sacramento event this year, we do encourage you to take advantage of MLK Day and “make it a day on, not a day off” by helping other worthy organizations in our community.
We are still recruiting for a few positions for responsible adults at the Crab and Shrimp Feed. All positions for children and teens have been filled at this time. Any Junior Volunteers wanting to help should come to our Barn Work Day this Saturday the 18th at 3pm.
Please return your January calendar by tomorrow, so that we will know what to expect for the first week of January when we return.
CSUS students – this is the last email you will receive from me unless you reply asking to be placed on our regular volunteer list. Please feel welcome to continue volunteering past your Service-learning assignment, and please consider attending one of my recruiting presentations next semester to convince other students to choose this placement!
Have a wonderful holiday season, and know that we count you as one of our many blessings!
~m
