Thank you for your interest in volunteering with Groundwork Ranch! We’re honored you are considering sharing your time and talents with us. Assuming you’ve read through our website or have met us in person, there’s probably a lot you already know about Groundwork Ranch and equine-assisted learning. What you may not know is that we’re a 100% volunteer-run organization!
Our volunteers do everything from pulling weeds or scooping up horse poop to helping us write press releases or spearheading data collection that helps inform future programs. Volunteers have a hand in caring for our herd of horses as well as caring for our clients and community partners. We’re committed to nurturing our volunteer team as a means of providing the highest quality, most effective EAL programs in the country.
Volunteer requirements
No prior horse experience required!
Ranch hands must be in excellent physical condition and able to lift 20 pounds.
Volunteers typically must be at least 18 years of age; however, we work with people of all ages on an individual basis to determine if volunteering at Groundwork Ranch is a good fit. Contact our Volunteer Manager to discuss this option.
All volunteers must have medical insurance that covers their participation in volunteer activities.
Volunteers must be willing to sign a photographic release giving Groundwork Ranch permission to include them in photographs of activities and/or programs.
Volunteer application process
Read through the general descriptions of our volunteer opportunities.
Complete the online application.
Attend a volunteer orientation. These are held on an as-needed basis.
The Volunteer Manager will work with your schedule and help you to start your volunteer experience!
The application process takes 2-6 weeks.
Volunteer opportunities
We have four types of volunteer involvement; three for people interested in being involved in an ongoing way and one for those interested in volunteering at a single event. All volunteers must complete an application and attend an orientation.
Single Event
Single event volunteers are welcomed to Groundwork Ranch on a limited basis. These are generally labor-intensive, outdoor opportunities and often include equipment or property maintenance. There is minimal horse interaction and no client contact. These events often involve many people and are supervised. The commitment required from sing event volunteers varies from a few hours to a full day, depending on the type of event.
Support Team
Our support team helps with a variety of general operating tasks in the office or on the property. Support team tasks are often completed in the Groundwork Ranch office or even at home, however they may include outdoor jobs such as landscaping, property maintenance, or equipment repair. If you have specific professional skills that you’re interested in providing, please indicate this on the application. The commitment required from support team members varies depending on the task. Some support tasks can be completed at your convenience with very flexible deadlines, while other tasks may need to be completed at a certain time or by a certain date. Please speak with our Volunteer Manager about the type of support you wish to provide.
Ranch Hand
Ranch hands may work directly with the horses as well as completing other non-client-related tasks. Ranch hands can volunteer to maintain the horse area, cover a feeding shift for the herd, provide basic horse care, or complete other tasks in proximity to the herd. We ask all our ranch hand volunteers to commit to one day/time per week for at least six months. Most ranch hand shifts run 1-2 hours per week. There are morning and evening ranch hand shifts available for feeding and caring for the horses. We will work with your schedule!
Program Assistant
Program assistants are able to help with programs in addition to participating in support team and ranch hand tasks. Program assistants may have direct contact with clients and/or client information. Working with clients requires specialized training and a demonstrated level of commitment. The commitment required from program assistants varies from 1-4 hours per week depending on the program. Please discuss your interest in becoming a program assistant with the Volunteer Manager.