You know how advisors, your parents, and other people are always encouraging doing good deeds and volunteering? It certainly can be difficult in college since everybody is so busy. Assignments and other commitments fill up your plate already so it just doesn’t seem feasible to add another activity into the mix. Well, that was how I felt this semester and I really want to get more involved this second semester. When I met with my health advisor for possibly opportunities, none really stuck out in my mind or truly interested me enough to really want to get involved. However, when we were talking, she happened to mention a volunteering position dealing with horses. If you know anything about me, you know that I love horses and miss being around them and riding them. Clearly, when she said “horses” I immediately perked up and became interested. My advisor was quite surprised that I was so eager to hear more about the program, but it is definitely something I want to pursue.
From the limited information I know about the program so far, it is called Project Ponytails and is centered around providing a positive environment for children who are exposed to domestic abuse. Combining my passion about horses and helping children just seems like the perfect fit for me! This organization provides support through horses and art with the help of volunteers and those running the program. I am extremely excited to apply for this volunteering position and get an opportunity to be around horses again and being a positive influence and friend to some children that need some uplifting people in their lives.
If you are interested in this program like I was, this is the link to their website: http://projectponytails.com/index.html
However, if horses aren’t for you, Hope and local organizations offer a lot of other opportunities such as Habitat for Humanity, Dance Marathon, CASA, The Rock, Big Brothers Big Sisters, and many others that Volunteer Services can help you get connected with. It’s understandable if your schedule doesn’t allow for much spare time to volunteer, but if you have a few hours each week, try to become more involved with some sort of program because it honestly is worth the time and effort.
Don’t forget to follow me on Twitter @hopeleslie15.