Horses for the Spirit E-News

We're pleased to announce our new strategy for preparing volunteers to work in our programs with the kids and horses.

Jan Koval, our Volunteer Coordinator, introduced the plans to the group who attended our volunteer training on February 28th. Those volunteers and the volunteers from the January training are the first to be going through the training process, so we're being flexible with the system at this point and looking forward to receiving feedback to utilize for the next training series tentatively slated for July/August 2009.

NEXT TRAINING SESSION: For those who attended our trainings in January and/or February, please plan to attend the following training to prepare yourself to begin shadowing a mentor in an upcoming program. (This session will be a combination of Sessions 2 and 3.)

When: Saturday, March 14, 2009, 11 am to 2 pm

Where: HFTS Classroom - 9500 N. Virginia St., Reno

RSVP: volunteers@horsesforthespirit.org

The following is a brief description of our training program that was introduced at the February 28th session.

Session One - Orientation

Introduction to Horses for the Spirit, its mission, goals, clients, projected outcomes
Introduction to Equine Assisted Learning and how the Parelli™ method of natural horsemanship is used in the programs
Requirements for the remainder of the training program

Session Two - Introduction to Parelli™ Natural Horsemanship

Overview of the 7 Games
Overview of the Horsenality Chart and its value to our programs
Demo of the 7 Games with a horse
Participation in simulations

Session Three - Working with Adolescents in our Programs

Overview of administrative requirements for working with the kids
Fingerprints and background checks must be in progress
Rules and guidelines
Toolkit for Working with the Kids
Brainstorming solutions to various scenarios

Session Four - Shadowing a Mentor in a Program

Observe (shadow) an experienced volunteer working in the arena with the kids and horses
4-5 sessions required before evaluating readiness to work directly with the kids

Session Five - Taking the Lead

Depending on preparedness, work directly with the kids and horses under the guidance of an experienced volunteer during the same program in which you shadow
Your first evaluation takes place after the first program you work

...And Beyond
After volunteers have completed Sessions One through Five, they may be ready to work without direct supervision in following programs, or it may be determined that more shadowing time is necessary.

If you are a particularly savvy volunteer, you may be asked to mentor others as they come up through the ranks. Once you've completed an entire program working as a "lead" volunteer, you will be evaluated again and awarded your Certification of Completion for our training program.

You may be asked to volunteer at fundraising or public awareness events to compliment your efforts working directly with the kids.

And of course, all volunteers are welcome to attend our annual Volunteer Appreciation gathering held during the holidays each year.

Our goal in establishing this training program is set you up for success and make this a positive experience for you, the students and the horses. To accomplish this, we plan to offer continued training and seminars throughout the year where you can hone your EAL skills or share experiences and ideas with other volunteers. Welcome aboard!