December 2013 RSVP Voice!

Refuge Services, Inc.
Refuge Services, Inc. is a public, non-profit organization providing equine-assisted therapies to individuals of all ages, offering hippotherapy and therapeutic riding for children, adolescents, and adults with special needs. Refuge provides a therapeutic setting for physical, occupational, speech-language, or licensed counseling professionals to incorporate the therapeutic value of horses into their treatment plan. Incorporation of the horse, as a co-facilitator, provides the therapist or instructor with a uniquely effective tool to improve a diagnosed physical, cognitive or sensory deficiency. Refuge Services needs volunteers to walk alongside their clients as they ride on the therapy horses.

Refuge has three programs for veterans: Veteran Horsemanship Training (VHT) Program, Veteran Service Projects (VSP), and Operation Refuge. Operation Refuge is a unique horse therapy wellness program offered free to Operation Iraqi Freedom & Operation Enduring Freedom – Afghanistan veterans and active military. Individual, family, marital and group formats are available. Through equine-assisted psychotherapy, led by a team of licensed counselors and horse professionals, the veterans will have opportunities to gain new perspectives on issues such as anger, depression/anxiety, readjustment, combat trauma (PTS), marital and family relationships, alcohol and substance abuse, and physical injuries. There are many opportunities for volunteers to help people reach wholeness of their total person – body, mind and spirit. We also extend an invitation to veterans who are seeking to give back to the community and desire to help returning veterans.

Road to Recovery
Road to Recovery is a service offered by the American Cancer Society in which volunteer drivers provide cancer patients transportation to and from their scheduled medical appointments. Drivers donate their time and the use of their personal vehicles to help ensure cancer patients get the lifesaving treatments they need. Lack of transportation sometimes leaves cancer patients with few options for completing their treatment schedules. Road to Recovery provides transportation options for patients in this situation. Join a different kind of cancer drive – one that does not ask for money, but time. Donate your time to drive a cancer patient to treatment. They’ll be blessed, and you’ll be blessed.

Children’s Books Needed
A massive explosion devastated the town of West, Texas, on April 17. More than 150 buildings were damaged or destroyed. One of those buildings was West Elementary.  Lubbock RSVP and 27 other Texas RSVP offices are collecting new or gently used books appropriate for children in Kindergarten through the 5th grade, in order to assist in rebuilding the elementary school library. The books can be brought to the Lubbock RSVP office, 6630 S. Quaker Ave., Suite A, by Feb. 7, 2014, so the books will arrive at the RSVP office in Waco by Feb. 21, to be transported to West. We are hoping to provide these children with a library full of books provided by kind and generous citizens.

More info
If you are interested in any of Lubbock’s volunteer opportunities or would like to know more about Lubbock RSVP, call the Lubbock RSVP office at 743-7787.
Today is a good day to volunteer.

Category: RSVP Voice!, RSVP Voice! Archive