Volunteering for On Eagles’ Wings
On Friday, September 10th, a few members of the Fairmont State Honors Association drove to a local non-profit organization called On Eagles’ Wings. The group arrived at 3:30, soaking in the cool fall-like weather, excited for this chance to volunteer. On Eagles’ Wings is a PATH accredited center (which stands for Professional Association of Therapeutic Horsemanship), and they have sixteen therapy horses. On Eagles’ Wings’ mission statement “is to provide a safe environment for individuals with disabilities, enabling them to enrich and enhance their lives through equine-assisted activities and therapies. Our participants include children and adults with physical, cognitive, emotional, and social disabilities and challenges”.
Before the volunteers got to work, they got to meet Spud, a gentle, thirty-year-old horse. Once the volunteers finished visiting Spud, they got to work cleaning up the washroom, sweeping, and cleaning up the main barn to help prepare for an event on Sunday, September 12th.
Everyone working at this establishment expressed their gratitude for the few jobs the volunteers got done in an hour and a half. Sadly, On Eagles’ Wings doesn’t get many volunteers. Casey Conaway, the Director of Development said, “Changing lives, one hoofbeat at a time,’ that’s our motto, and we can’t do that without volunteers.” A second group from the Honors Association is excited to volunteer again on Friday, September 17th.
Madeline Puppos, the President of the Honors Association, was one of the volunteers and said, “It was a pleasure to volunteer with On Eagles’ Wings this weekend; I enjoyed the opportunity to give back to our community any way we could. I hope we have the chance to work with them more in the future.” If you would like to learn more about the mission of On Eagles’ Wings or would like to volunteer, please visit their website. https://www.oneagleswingswv.org/.
Casey Conaway also told the volunteers about the second barn that was recently built for the three miniature horses. On Eagles’ Wings is holding a ribbon-cutting ceremony on October 1st! She also informed us that one of their miniature horses will be in Fairmont State University’s homecoming parade! Make sure to keep an eye out for On Eagles’ Wings getting involved on campus. They are excited to start building relationships with the students and faculty at Fairmont State.
