Ashland nonprofit offers free therapeutic programs for women recovering from breast cancer
An Ashland nonprofit helping women recover from the rigors of breast cancer treatment through interactions with specially trained horses is looking for volunteers to assist with horses during sessions as well as behind the scenes with fund-raising events, public relations and outreach into the Rogue Valley community.
Riding Beyond, which has offered the free programs since 2013, will conduct volunteer training from 1 to 5 p.m. Tuesday, March 15, and Saturday, March 19, at Little Creek Ranch, south of Ashland on Siskiyou Boulevard.
Riding Beyond, according to its website, “offers an opportunity for women who have experienced the rigors of breast cancer treatment and those experiencing post traumatic stress due to COVID-19 to revitalize their whole person emotionally, physically, and spiritually, through carefully designed, guided interactions with horses.”
A release about the volunteer program quotes a participant in last year’s programs as saying, “Every layered detail of the program is designed to empower us to connect safely, heart to heart, with these enormous, magnificent beings. The sessions are educational, deep, fun, and exhilarating. … Please accept this offering. You will be delighted.”
The free programs are held on Tuesdays and Wednesdays in April, May and September.
A volunteer is quoted as saying, “I was awed by the spirits of the other volunteers, all from different backgrounds and experiences, yet I felt at home right away. … Each person was assigned a place to be of help within their comfort level, no matter their experience with horses or cancer, for that matter. People and animals were held with gentleness, grace and appreciation. … We had the blessing of meeting the participants, brave women finishing a tough course of treatment and trusting us to help them take a new step on their journey of healing.”
For details on the volunteer program, go to ridingbeyond.org/volunteers/.
To register for the volunteer training, go to https://conta.cc/3t1ul4Z.
For further information, call volunteer coordinator Tiffani Morrison at 541-601-8775 or email her at morrisontiffani13@gmail.com.
Source: News release from Riding Beyond. Email Ashland.news Executive Editor Bert Etling at betling@ashland.news or call or text him at 541-631-1313.
