Volunteer with Us!

Volunteers are crucial to the function and success of Olive's Branch Healing. Whether you are an individual or group, we welcome you! There are multiple time slots during the day that you can come to help forward our mission of eliminating barriers for marginalized, urban and rural communities to gain access to horses!

All volunteers are required to submit an application, annual volunteer membership fee, PA Criminal Background Checks and ChildLine Clearances. Ages 14 and up and in some cases 12-13 (approval required). Individuals between 12-14 can volunteer with a parent or guardian.

Our Volunteers benefit from the following:

For every 30 hours served, volunteers can receive 1 free Experience Olive session or riding lesson per month
Trainings to increase knowledge and comfortability with horses
Connecting with individuals from all walks of life
Custom OBH merchandise
Introduction to the equestrian world
Hands on experience caring for horses
Equine training techniques
Community and leadership development
Practical life skills
Safe, family friendly environment

Available Volunteer Positions:

Equine Steward: Volunteer(s) in this role will be responsible for the day to day operations pertaining to barn work. Tasks include but are not limited to mucking stalls, feed/turnout, cleaning tack, sweeping/knocking down cobwebs, picking arena/pasture, and general upkeep of the facility. Volunteering in this role is a great way for both new and seasoned horse enthusiasts to spend time working with horses. Barn shifts are 1-2 hours long, morning and early evening. Completion of this assessment with a yellow category or higher will allow qualified volunteers to pursue training and take their assessment for the equine conditioner/trainer role.

Equine Conditioner/Trainer: Volunteer(s) in this role will be responsible for maintaining equine care and training. Individuals in this role will ideally have attention to details and good documentation/electronic skills. Must go through unmounted and/or mounted assessment to qualify. Conditioning/Training slots are 1 hour long. Must have completed the Equine Steward Training and Assessment received a yellow category or higher score.

EAS Support Member: Volunteer(s) in this role will serve as an extension of the Equine-Specialist in Mental Health and Learning. EAS Supporters should have good observation skills, ability to “read the room”, follow instruction and self-control (refraining from interrupting the session and keeping everyone on task). EAS Supports are responsible for preparing for an Equine-Assisted Services session as well as cleaning up after the session. This would include setting up of the arena (designed by Destani), horse logistics, returning items used to their appropriate location as well as the horses who participated in the session. Some sessions may require EAS support to participate in the session depending on the situation. EAS supports are needed for OBH Horse Powered Book Club and any other unmounted/mounted EAL services.

Social Media: Volunteer(s) in this role will be responsible for documenting OBH programming/events and creating/executing projects for a variety of social media platforms. Must be able to make it out to the barn 1X weekly at minimum and be savvy with the latest apps for marketing etc.

Support Raising: Volunteer(s) in this role will focus on establishing connections with new and veteran donors of Olive’s Branch Healing. Time will be spent actively raising money for fundraisers. Attendance of monthly support raising committee meeting required.

Crafts/Events/Groups: Volunteer(s) in this role will have short term opportunities to complete projects or events. Tasks will focus on merchandise design, supporting open/closed OBH events, or crafts to help around the barn.

*All volunteer roles pertaining to direct handling and care of equine will take a written and practical assessment before role/horse approval.*

Volunteer Application Process

Potential Individual Volunteers must schedule a tour and orientation date before submitting the full application. The following must be completed and approved in order to be an OBH trainee:

PA Child Abuse Clearance (no older than 5 years and 18 and up)
PA State Criminal Record Check (no older than 5 years)
Volunteer Application
Signed Release and Hold Harmless Form
Barn, Safety and Your Responsibility Form
HIPAA Training and signature form
COVID-19 Policy
OBH General Policy
Read the OBH Volunteer Handbook
Signed Volunteer Handbook Agreement
Certificate of Completion for the Mandatory Reporter Course
Mandated/Permissive Reporter Agreement

Annual $40 membership fee will be accepted in cash, PayPal or Venmo. The fee to cover the following:

Restroom costs
1 OBH shirt or other merchandise
Insurance
Snacks to provide for volunteers during shifts and training events
Discount on services through the Working Horsemanship program

After successful completion and submission of the required documents listed above, volunteers will begin to train for the Equine Steward role and assessment. Once certified in this role Equine Stewards have the opportunity to explore other equine-related volunteer roles.

Group Volunteers must have the following completed in order to volunteer:

Signed Release and Hold Harmless form by each individual
Signed Barn, Safety and Responsibilities form by each individual
COVID-19 Policy
OBH General Policy
Signed Volunteer Handbook

***Please note: all documents must be submitted hard copy at this time***

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Olive’s Branch Healing

Call Us: 717-833-4143