Volunteers
Make It Happen
As
the riders, staff, instructors, and therapists of Lift Me
Up! know, volunteers are the lifeblood of our program. We
are able to offer the many benefits of therapeutic riding
to our riders because of our volunteers, who perform functions
ranging from sidewalking, to horse leading, to fielding phone
calls and redirecting wayward barn cats in search of affection.
Our
LMU! friends come to us from all walks of the community. Many
of our volunteers are local high school kids doing community
service. You don't need to be a “horsy” person to
help out. We provide full training for all volunteers. We
do however, have a minium age requirement of 14 years old.
We
are scheduling several volunteer training days soon. Call
for details.
 Pat
and Peggy Murray
have worked with the program for several years. Both Pat and
Peggy have shown tremendous dedication, commitment, and sensitivity
in helping out with the myriad tasks of a therapeutic riding
organization.
Pat
Murray is a lifelong horsewoman, with early riding experience
in her hometown of Chicago, later in Michigan, and more recently
here in Northern Virginia. In fact, Pat first became familiar
with therapeutic riding in Chicago, when a friend afflicted
with polio participated in such a program. She worked with
another local therapeutic riding program for a while before
becoming involved with Lift Me Up! more than six years ago.
(During this time, Pat was transitioning into retirement from
her position at the Environmental Protection Agency.) Pat
became involved with the program simply by coming out to the
farm and introducing herself. Since that first visit, Pat
has worked primarily with Pam McDorman, and with Mary Jo Beckman.
 Peggy Murray first became familiar with the field
of therapeutic riding while attending college at James Madison
University in Harrisonburg, Virginia, and began working with
a program while at that institution. Peggy has been with Lift
Me Up! for a total of more than five years, and has worked
with Kerry Longenecker and more recently with Connie Kohler
and Pam Nolan as well as other instructors. She is a rider
herself, having taken lessons at Mrs. Dillon's Full Cry Farm,
and occasionally riding the program horses as well. In her
spare time, Peggy teaches religious education classes at a
local church in Great Falls.
Both
Pat and Peggy enjoy working with both the horses and the people
in the program. We are lucky to have them, and hope they continue
for a long time to come!
Volunteer
Recognition Day is coming soon!!!
Come help us thank these wonderful people.
To
enroll as a volunteer, submit the form below, and we will
contact you as soon as we receive your information.
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