'Help Needed': SARI therapeutic riding school loses 80 per cent of volunteers due to pandemic
SARI, a local therapeutic riding school for people with special needs, is officially up and riding this summer after months of being closed due to the pandemic. The SARI team is happy to have cleared that jump, but now they’re facing a new obstacle on the course.
“The volunteers are very much the backbone of SARI’s operations, we couldn’t do it without them,” says SARI Executive Director Janine Langley.
The charitable program that is known for helping others is now in desperate need of helpers of their own.
“We are totally dependent on our volunteers, we have a very, very small staff and we cannot operate without the volunteers to support our riders,” says Terry Power, volunteer coordinator and event support staffer at SARI.
For nearly 16 months, volunteers were unable to join the team at SARI due to the pandemic.
In that time period, many moved on to other things, causing an 80 per cent drop in available volunteers.
Langley says the team needs approximately 250 volunteers on the roster to operate the riding school at its best capacity.
Right now the team is operating with 50 volunteers.
SARI Executive Director Janine Langley says volunteers are the organization's backbone, Monday, July 19, 2021. (Jordyn Read / CTV News)
SARI Executive Director Janine Langley. (Jordyn Read / CTV News)
"It’s been really difficult to recruit volunteers getting back up to our base level needed…We have lots of eager participants waiting at home for our programs to open but it's all dependent on our volunteers returning.”
Power has been trying to get the word out so more riders can get back in the saddle come September.
"The most important role for our volunteers, and the one we need so many for, is actually physically participating in the lessons. All of our riders have gone through an assessment and the majority of them need someone to get the horse ready and lead the horse in the lesson and then two (volunteers) side walk, they actually provide that physical support for the riders.”
Power says up to seven volunteers can be required per riding lesson, but the standard amount is three.
“I don’t think there is anything more rewarding than animal assisted therapy, being able to see the difference this makes in peoples lives and knowing riders couldn’t be here without their support…it is rewarding for our riders but just as rewarding for our volunteers."
A volunteer has to be at least 14 years old and comfortable around horses, but they do not need previous experience handling one.
“I have been here for six years and I am not a rider, I knew nothing about horses when I started but they teach you everything and the people are wonderful,” says volunteer Donna Murray.
In the coming weeks SARI will be holding eight orientations to recruit 200 volunteers for September. To learn more click here.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Quebec nurse had to clean up after husband's death in Montreal hospital
On a night she should have been mourning, a nurse from Quebec's Laurentians region says she was forced to clean up her husband after he died at a hospital in Montreal.
Northern Ont. lawyer who abandoned clients in child protection cases disbarred
A North Bay, Ont., lawyer who abandoned 15 clients – many of them child protection cases – has lost his licence to practise law.
Bank of Canada officials split on when to start cutting interest rates
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
Maple Leafs fall to Bruins in Game 3, trail series 2-1
Brad Marchand scored twice, including the winner in the third period, and added an assist as the Boston Bruins downed the Toronto Maple Leafs 4-2 to take a 2-1 lead in their first-round playoff series Wednesday
Cuban government apologizes to Montreal-area family after delivering wrong body
Cuba's foreign affairs minister has apologized to a Montreal-area family after they were sent the wrong body following the death of a loved one.
'It was instant karma': Viral video captures failed theft attempt in Nanaimo, B.C.
Mounties in Nanaimo, B.C., say two late-night revellers are lucky their allegedly drunken antics weren't reported to police after security cameras captured the men trying to steal a heavy sign from a downtown business.
What is changing about Canada's capital gains tax and how does it impact me?
The federal government's proposed change to capital gains taxation is expected to increase taxes on investments and mainly affect wealthy Canadians and businesses. Here's what you need to know about the move.
'Life was not fair to him': Daughter of N.B. man exonerated of murder remembers him as a kind soul
The daughter of a New Brunswick man recently exonerated from murder, is remembering her father as somebody who, despite a wrongful conviction, never became bitter or angry.
'Anything to win': Trudeau says as Poilievre defends meeting protesters
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is accusing Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre of welcoming 'the support of conspiracy theorists and extremists,' after the Conservative leader was photographed meeting with protesters, which his office has defended.