for a good cause

A couple of months ago I did a little volunteer work through the company I work for. About 30 of us treked out to the Northern Virginia Therapeutic Riding Program (NVTRP). The interesting thing was that I had been wanting to volunteer here for a while now. In college, I researched, photographed and spent a lot of time at a therapeutic riding program in upstate NY and I found it fascinating. To see the children's faces light up when they were near those horses was incredible.

So, ever since then I've always been interested in lending a hand to these amazing programs. But life gets in the way sometimes and things kind of get put on the backburner. Anyway, I volunteered there for work and while I was there I talked to one of the women that helps keep the place thriving. I told her that I was interested in helping out in the future and that we would be in contact.

Fast forward to about 2 weeks ago. I found out through a co-worker that the barn had burned to the ground. My heart dropped. Thankfully no one was seriously hurt. One horse was actually in the barn when it caught fire but miraculously managed to kick out his stall door and get out. However, this program is seriously hurting now. They rely heavily on volunteers and donations to keep themselves up and running. They are now in the process of trying to find open land to re-build, replenish their supplies (everything was lost) and just basically try to keep their heads above water. I have been in contact with them over the past week or so and tonight will be the first of hopefully many nights that I go there to volunteer my time.

I grew up around horses, whether it was riding them or working in stables since I was about 10 years old. This is my comfort zone. Being around horses used to be a regular thing for me. And I honestly think I have been going through withdrawls!

I'm really looking forward to doing anything I can to help get this incredible program up and running again. If you have some time, check out the website. And if you are so inclined, there is an area where you can donate. What they do for those with disabilities is admirable and I really can't imagine a better way to spend my night tonight.