Jake Dillon

Jake Dillon came to FRIENDS in July 2010 to do volunteer hours for school. He has already served over 120 hours . Along the way his family decided to sponsor some of our horses. Strawberry is now his sponsored horse and they have a very special bond. Jake and his family live in the Florida Keys so every time they come to the ranch, it is an hour and a half drive each way.Three hours of travel time round trip and many hours of hard work. That is true dedication! Jake used to fish and dive with his free time.Since getting Strawberry he has given that up to spend all his free time working with the horses. In fact, he was recently given the choice of visiting Walt Disney World or coming to the ranch during summer vacation and he chose FRIENDS. Jake loves to ride on the trails and hopes to be part of the Barn Staff Team in the future.
Congratulations Jake, on being
October's Volunteer of the Month!!

 

 

SEPTEMBER 2010 VOLUNTEER OF THE MONTH

 

Val Casler
Val Casler found F.R.I.E.N.D.S. by seeing a flyer on a board at a Pet Supermarket here in Broward County. She began volunteering because she missed the time she used to spend with horses on a farm in New Jersey. She relocated to Florida in 1999 when her horse was 28 years old. She chose to leave her horse on a family owned farm where she had been boarded in northern New Jersey so the horse could live out her life where she was comfortable and well cared for. In 2006 her sweet old girl passed away and that experience reminded Val how much was missing from her life here in FLorida with no horse contact. Finding FRIENDS when she did seemed like a perfect way for her to reconnect with horses, help rescued animals, and honor the memory of her mare. Val started volunteering in 2006. She also sponsored at FRIENDS from March of 2007 to April of 2010. Val also works as a pet sitter and still has time to volunteer at the ranch. Val has many favorite horses: Jasper, Biscuit, Capitan and Speckles. She now spends 2 to 3 days during the week volunteering at the ranch. How many hours has she given to FRIENDS? On average, Val spends 6 hours a week, 50 weeks a year, for almost 4 years.... easily 1000 or more hours. Val feels FRIENDS has given back to her the opportunity to work with many horses, and increased her knowledge of equine nutrition and medical care. CONGRATULATIONS VAL on being SEPTEMBER's VOLUNTEER of THE MONTH!     

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AUGUST 2010 VOLUNTEER OF THE MONTH

MAUREEN MENDEZ

Maureen Mendez is our August Volunteer of the month. She is a Broward County resident and has been the Cafeteria Manager of Glen Middle School  for over 13 years. Maureen found that she had some spare time and wanted to help out somewhere.  She went online and found out about F.R.I.E.N.D.S. She began volunteering in June of 2010 and has already served over 50 hours.
Maureen has a kind heart, and is exceptional at dealing with all the children; adapting quickly to unusual situations as they arise. Maureen says, "I love the ranch!  I enjoy volunteering because
the horses make me feel good. All my kids are grown". When asked who her favorite horse is she quickly adds, "Capitan! He is the only man in my life".

CONGRATULATIONS MAUREEN!

 

 

JULY 2010 VOLUNTEER OF THE MONTH

ALEXANDRA MILES

 Alexandra Miles is a 17 year old student at McFatter Technical School and is hoping  to be a veterinarian. She has volunteered at the FRIENDS Ranch for the last four months for school volunteer requirements and has completed approximately 120 hours. Alexandra chose the ranch to do her volunteer hours at because she loves animals and she once knew someone that had a horse at the ranch. Alexandra likes working with the horses and assisting with their care. Whisper, a fun and spunky horse, is her favorite and she hopes to sponsor her one day!  Alex loves to help feed in the mornings and gets a great deal of satisfaction in helping horses and other animals in need. Alex works extremely hard and focuses her attention on whatever tasks are in most need each day. She has a very good work ethic when it comes to prioritizing the tasks she will do for the day.  She has also set a great example for other volunteers by being a "team leader" in showing kids of all ages how to groom horses and how to do various other jobs that need to be done. She jumps in whenever and wherever she is needed without hesitation even if it is not her favorite job. Thank you Alex!
Congratulations on being our JULY VOLUNTEER of the MONTH!

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JUNE 2010 VOLUNTEER OF THE MONTH

LAUREN BERGER
Our Volunteer of the Month for June is Lauren Berger. Lauren,who is 18, will be heading to college in Tampa at the end of June to attend school and start a new job. She has served over 100 hours with F.R.I.E.N.D.S. over and beyond what is required for high school volunteer hours. She spent her entire Spring Break volunteering to help the horses. The ranch has come to know Lauren as a very genuine person willing to go above and beyond with her time out at the ranch. She says volunteering at FRIENDS brings her back down to Earth and provides an opportunity for her to get away from the city allowing her to feel at peace.
Favorite horses; Whisper and Dayne

Lauren found out about us through Volunteer Broward. We get many fine volunteers from this great local organization. Lauren has been volunteering regularly with us since January of 2010. She has loved horses all her life and used to ride as a young girl. She has shown exceptional dedication to our cause and extraordinary efforts at the ranch and we will really miss her when she leaves! We wish her well in her new home!

 

 

MAY 2010 VOLUNTEER OF THE MONTH

JOSH LASLEY
Josh came to FRIENDS in January of 2010 to fulfill his required service hours for high school graduation. Josh became a regular on Tuesdays and Thursdays and quickly fulfilled his service hours requirement. Even when he no longer needed to come out to the ranch, he continued to show up and help out because he knew we needed the extra volunteer support on those days. Josh was referred to us by a friend of his that had also served their hours with us last year. Feeling an attachment to the ranch, Josh is now considering sponsorship of one of our orphan horses.
His favorite thing about the ranch is "being outside and working with the horses", and his favorite horse is "Biscuit" who he says, "has a great personality". Josh is 18 years old, enjoys country music, scuba diving and hunting.
Josh is currently participating in the College Academy Program at Broward College. The program is funded by the state of Florida and is a joint venture between The School Board of Broward County and Broward College. It is the most successful program of its kind in the nation. The College Academy at BC Central Campus offers high school juniors enrolled as full-time students in the program the opportunity to receive a high school diploma from The School Board of Broward County, Florida and an Associate of Arts (AA) degree from Broward College. All classes are held at the Broward College campus. Josh has a 4.8 GPA and has been accepted as a junior into the Honors Program at Florida State University in fall 2010 where he plans to major in International Relations.
F.R.I.E.N.D.S. has recognized Josh by making him a Team Leader at FRIENDS because of his dedication, his leadership skills, and his genuine caring for the animals. He will oversee and lead other new volunteers through the various jobs and chores that need to be fulfilled each day at our rescue ranch. We warmly welcome him to our Barn Staff Team. He is also our Volunteer of the Month for May 2010. We will certainly miss him when he must leave us in the fall but will look forward to his visits when he has time off from school.