Morning Glory Ranch thanks WISD for student volunteers

     Morning Glory Ranch is an Outdoor Education and Equine Therapy facility dedicated to creating and providing a safe, fun, and experiential educational opportunity for all individuals, including those with disabilities. In providing these services that change the lives of everyone involved, Morning Glory Ranch has created a student volunteer service program where students from Waller High School (WHS), Waller Junior High (WJH), and Schultz Middle School (SMS) have dedicated and logged over 500 hours of community service during the months of October, November, and December 2006 and are continuing through 2007.
     “Morning Glory Ranch is so very grateful our student volunteers for their hard work,” said Kim Mack, Morning Glory Ranch founder and executive director.
     Students such as Ashlee Burzo (junior, WHS), Kyle Fajkus (freshman, WHS), Miranda Ingram (freshman, WHS), Randallyn Kelso (freshman, WHS), Abraham Sanchez (sophomore, WHS), Michelle Hackler (junior, WHS), and Cystal Wilkerson (eighth grade, WJH) focus a large part of their time working as part of a disabled person’s therapy team. The volunteers learn about different types of disabilities (such as autism, cerebral palsy, and multiple sclerosis [among others]) and how horses can play a part in enhancing quality of life for a person with a disability.
     Morning Glory Ranch would not be able to provide these special equestrians with this therapy if it were not for the commitment of its student volunteers who have dedicated and committed their time to the ranch’s work. These student volunteers spend two days a week as part of team working with a special equestrian rider thus making a difference in the lives of their special peers and their own. 
     Other volunteers such as Sheridan Butler (eighth grade, WJH), Kaylea Fajkus (sixth grade, SMS), Kenneth Ferguson (freshman, WHS), Amanda Kelso (junior, WHS), John Ramon-Diaz (sophomore, WHS), Fabian Sanchez (senior, WHS), Justin Tilton (senior, WHS), Matt Snow (freshman, WHS), Shannon Smith (eighth grade, WJH) and Cynthia Wilkerson (sophomore, WHS) have volunteered their time to work on the ranch facilities.
     The majority of these students spent the entire last day of their break, before returning to school after the Christmas Holidays, working outdoors on the ranch cleaning barns, horse stalls, moving equipment and furniture, sanding, painting and many other tasks that could not be completed without their generous help.  All of the volunteers learn to ride along with horse safety, care, and maintenance procedures.
     Morning Glory Ranch strives to build character in its youth through involvement with special programs.  They hope to instill a sense of importance, pride, and ownership in their accomplishments.  With the customized diverse experiential educational program Morning Glory Ranch provides to both volunteers and special visitors, they create invaluable knowledge.  With this knowledge, clients and student volunteers acquire wisdom that they hope will provide better leaders in our community.
     Members of the metal trades class at WHS; Alex Contreras, Fabian Coronel, Jesse Garcia, Clayton Jackson, Adam Kolojaco, Juan Montez, and Steven Pitchford; led by teacher Danny Boone, built all of the hitching posts and wash racks for Morning Glory. The ranch is also very grateful for the time the class spent on this project.
     For more information on the ranch and how you can get involved, visit www.morninggloryranch.org or call Sarah Stephenson at 936.931.4078.