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Very good read. It is for all of you "rescuers" out there.

Rescuing The Rescuer
Some people seem called to help others, often from very early on
in their childhoods, responding to the needs of family members,
strangers, or animals with a selflessness that is impressive. Often,
these people appear to have very few needs of their own, and the
focus of their lives is on rescuing, helping, and healing others.
While there are a few people who are truly able to sustain this
completely giving lifestyle, the vast majority has needs that lie
beneath the surface, unmet and often unseen. In these cases, their
motivation to help others may be an extension of a deep desire to
heal a wounded part of themselves that is starving for the kind of
love and attention they dole out to those around them on a daily
basis. For any number of reasons, they are unable to give themselves
the love they need and so they give it to others. This does not mean
that they are not meant to be helping others, but it does mean that
they would do well to turn some of that helping energy within.

One problem with the rescuer model is that the individual can get
stuck in the role, always living in crisis mode at the expense of
inner peace and personal growth. Until the person resolves their own
inner dramas, they play them out in their relationships with others,
drawn to those who need them and often unable to acknowledge their
own needs or get them met. In the worst-case scenario, they enable
the other person's dilemma by not knowing when to stop playing the
rescuer and allow the person to figure it out on their own. However,
if the rescuer finds the strength to turn within and face the needy
aspects of their own psyche, he or she can become a model of
empowerment and a true source of healing in the world.

Some signs that you or someone you love may need to rescue the
rescuer within are inner burnout from overgiving; underlying
resentment; an inability to admit to having needs of one's own; and
an unwillingness to be vulnerable. Help comes when we allow
ourselves to admit we need it, acknowledging our humanity and our
wholeness by acknowledging our pain. The understanding we gain in
the process will naturally inform and inspire our ability to help
those in need to do the same.
 

Want to get involved?

I read this on TWR and thought it was great!
The most common problem we face is when people want to help and go out and purchase items for the rescue, such as grain or fly deterent without asking what we use, the items are then useless. The money could have purchased the right item for the horses. If you are thinking about helping the horses and the rescue as a whole, please ASK what we need and allow US to purchase the items with your financial donation. This way we get what we truly need and use and everyone is happy!

There are lots of ways a rescue can be helped even if can't send off a check this week:

The most obvious is to volunteer: donate your time & expertise.

I agree it can be a big help to look locally first, but don't give up if you can't find one in your own town.

Can I make one suggestion for those who are new at volunteering for an animal charity? Ask them what they need and be willing to do it.

We get calls for people who want to only come and brush the horses & give treats. This is rewarding for the volunteer but it doesn't help the horse get better or find a home. It may tie up a shelter worker who now has to stop what they're doing to help you safely handle the horse. If you want to help, we truly need people to help with a fundraiser or booth (where there are no cute horses to pet). Suddenly people are "busy" when we need helpers at an event. The majority of work usually falls back on the same core people every time. Please consider volunteering even if the task they need help with isn't so fun.

Also look at volunteering as not just being you filling a slot for X hours a month. Each person brings their unique talents, personality, skills, background, and connections to the table. Use them! Who do you know that needs to know about the organization's cause? Can you network people together?

Remote Volunteers:

Some Rescues organization, such as Equihab, happily welcome help of remote volunteers. You can live anywhere in the world, and as long as you have a computer you could help. You'd just need to let the organization know what you're able to do and the time commitment. Some ideas include:

helping to write press releases
photo editing
media liason for specific publications - eg. pick your 5 favorite horse magazines. Can you write press releases or editorials they might print concerning the Rescue, its mission, or a horse there?
web site proof reader - sometimes just helping us find typos saves us hours of searching
online advocate of the organization: spread the word to other sites, forums, etc
develop and/or run a fund raiser for the group; you don't have to be local to do this... just be creative!
grant research: locate possible grants
helping with grant writing
developing a newsletter
or just writing individual stories for the newsletter or web site
write vendors of horse products on the Rescue's behalf asking if they could donate any items (do work with the organization on this so you're not duplicating efforts and annoying vendors who already donated)
Advocate for an individual horse

One problem rescues have is getting good leads on good homes for their horses. I don't know if it would work for all rescue groups, but Equihab could use someone to be an advocate for each horse.

1. You pick a horse on their list that's really cute. Or pick an underdog that's been at the rescue 2 years already with nobody coming to see him.

2. Ask questions about him and make sure you understand as much about the horse as possible. Politely ask the rescue for clarification, especially on important issues such as size, breed, age, gender, and ability, if you're unsure.

3. Then your job is to tell everyone & anyone about him: message boards, emails to friends. Get on to some of the bigger horse sites and talk about "have you seen the really nice ____ at such-and-such organization?" Stir interest!

4. You could design a flyer that can be emailed back to the rescue to be printed & distributed locally. If you're in their region, it would be a HUGE help for you to print and hand the approved flyer everywhere you go.

5. If you can do photoshop type work, make some neat banners or collages using that horse's image.

6.Help the rescue keep their ads current and accurate. Proof-read them for typos and big problems. If an ad expires, remind the Rescue to renew it.

7. Try to find the interest behind the horse that would appeal to the general public; turn his story into a press release. Press releases don't need to be long (1 page is fine). Research what you can about the horse, eg look up his tattoo or breeder & competition history. This takes a little time but can turn into a wonderful story, and can get "your" horse onto the front page of the People section of the newspaper. With that rescue's approval of the final copy, mail it to all the newspapers in the region. This is a HUGE help, even if only 1 paper might pick up the story.

8. Keep at it until he's adopted!

9. If "your" horse suddenly needs surgery or something big, you can help with publicizing his situation.

(Just make sure any ads or formal notices you're posting are run past someone at the Rescue first for accuracy... a misunderstanding could turn into false advertising if a reader gets confused and objects. Be accurate, clear, and be aware of copyright and privacy law)

You've now saved the Rescue countless man-hours... AND you helped a homeless horse find a new, loving home.

Or just use your imagination

Half of the problem with a new volunteer is that we don't know your skills or interest. We don't know what you'd like to do or what you really shine at. The more you can take the initiative, the easier it is to get you in a role where you're helping the most.



THANK YOU for considering helping the horse rescue organizations. The horses thank you!