Marshfield, WI (OnFocus) Associates from Hawkins Ash CPAs spent a chilly morning last month outside of the office to help with a great local cause.
Volunteering is something the company enjoys doing. “We take pride in the communities where we live and work and constantly strive to make them even better through sharing our time, our interest and our financial resources,” said Abe Leis, CPA, the Managing Partner at Hawkins Ash CPAs. “In additional to the numerous professional and charity organizations our employees volunteer with on a regular basis, each year they select one cause to which the firm sponsors eight volunteer hours per employee.”
In late October, staff from the Marshfield location helped refresh bedding, clean the stalls, wet down the arena, and complete other morning chores at HART Equine Therapy Center in Auburndale.
“HART Equine Center is a place you rarely hear about. We chose HART because of its unique approach of incorporating horses into it mission of empowering individuals with special needs,” said Matt Eckelberg, CPA and Partner. “As an office, we wanted to volunteer to somewhere different than the typical animal shelter. Working with HART to help care for the horses, the tack and stables as well seemed like fun way to be able to help out.”
With a vision to promote the benefits of equine-assisted therapy through basic horsemanship and educate the surrounding communities, HART gives riding lessons and equine assisted activities to individuals with special needs. Students learn how to ride and groom a horse.
“There are a lot of horses here. There is a lot of help needed to keep this organization going and keep this facility clean and appropriate and safe for our students to come in,” said Kim Sievers, Executive Director. “Hawkins Ash is doing a great job. We appreciate them being here.”
“I enjoyed seeing what they all do at HART and learning how they help a variety of people with therapy,” said Jared Ystad. “It was nice to see all the time and effort they put in out there. The most important part of volunteering for me is being able to help others. Being able to give back to others is very important to me.”
Hart provides anyone with challenges or special needs with an opportunity to partner with a horse to give him/her a sense of accomplishment and self-worth while in a safe and challenging environment.
“Volunteering at HART was very rewarding cause we got to see what they do in return with the therapy session,” added Amy Smith. “There’s a lot of work that goes into keeping the stables clean and the horses healthy and happy, that I don’t think people are aware of. I’m hoping with us volunteering there we can make more people aware of what they do and who knows maybe get more volunteers for them.”
Shannon Felski said she enjoyed being able to help out somewhere that was in turn helping someone.
“It was neat to see the therapy session with the horses,” said Smith. “I love to volunteer. It was great experience to share with my daughter to be able to show her that giving a helping hand and volunteering that it can make you feel good being able to help out so that they can give their best to those in need.”
“I liked seeing the type of work they do (hadn’t heard of them before),” added Jill Wrensch. “I enjoyed the physical labor tasks – a nice change from sitting behind a desk all day.”
To learn more about HART, visit www.hartetc.com.
Author: News Desk
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