Volunteer Testimonials

A Volunteer’s Story

By Rich Schwenn

 

In 2000 I began volunteering at SHHRC. Shortly thereafter I met Ashley an enchanting young rider with Down syndrome whom I found it very easy to draw close to. Sometime after that my eldest daughter gave birth to a boy with Down syndrome. I shared this with everyone at SHHRC and was moved and delighted as the parents of kids with Downs stepped forward to help, some contacting my daughter with encouraging e-mails and all tendering advice to me and answering my questions freely. A small support network had formed. As time went on I tried whenever possible to be side-walker or leader for any of the kids with Downs that rode with us. I was trying to learn all I could. My particular bonding with Ashley continued and it was she who taught me more about the world of Down syndrome citizens than any book could possibly have done. Even with limited speech she speaks for the Downs community and tells me the things I need to know.

When I enter a room and she points to me, she’s saying, “This is how we say we like you.” When she playfully switches off the light, plunging us into darkness, she’s saying, “This is how we tease you.” When she carefully and politely eats her McDonalds, she’s saying, “This is how we socialize.” And when she entwines her arm in mine as we wait on the bench to mount up, she’s saying, “This is how we love you.” My arrival at SHHRC, my interaction with kids with Down syndrome and other disabilities, and the application of that knowledge for the benefit of my grandson, confirm my belief that there is a benign significance at work in the universe. Things don’t just happen.

Somerset Hills Handicapped Riding Center