Becoming a part of PERSONAL PONIES...

Becoming part of our PERSONAL PONIES family requires a committment to excellence. We look for people who care about where, how and by whom these little U.K. Shetlands are bred and raised; we look for people who understand that community service is an important part of being human.

To those who choose to join our family, you can be assured that we will assist you in every way we can. We want you to be pleased to be part of this important work so that you will tell others about us. Unlike a commerical enterprise, we cannot grow simply by producing more product. Instead, the growth of PERSONAL PONIES as an organization depends entirely on the willingness of people who are committed to helping others to breed, raise, promote, and love these little ponies.

We are TRULY a volunteer organization!

PERSONAL PONIES is truly an all-volunteer organization. Not only is NO ONE paid for the work they do, but our Volunteer Breeders, Promotors and Sponsors all assume financial responsibility for the ponies assigned to them! Without their generous spirits and hard work, PERSONAL PONIES could not exist!

It would be misleading, though, to speak here as if what our volunteers DO can be reduced to titles like Breeder, Sponsor, Promotor, State Director, Regional Director or Community Director—or to think that there aren't hundreds of other people throughout this country who may not hold titles, but whose contributions of time, energy and resources aren't critical to our success.

In our work, it takes a village to make a difference in a child's life.

PERSONAL PONIES is community centered

We think our organization is different from most national non-profits in lots of ways, but one of the most important is that all of our work is community centered. What this means is that all the work that our volunteers do DIRECTLY benefits the children in their own community.

At PERSONAL PONIES, we consider a “community” to be a circle with a diameter of fity miles with a Community Director right at its center. We then envision a map of each state marked with hundreds of these circles, each community circle serving the special needs children within its reach. Within each community the Community Director coordinates the program and organizes the outreach to the local community, supported by one or more volunteer breeding stations, sponsors and promoters and a small army of local helpers, with a State Director overseeing the larger picture and providing support to local communities as well as serving as liason between each state and the national organization.

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Volunteer Organization

State Directors - Coordinates all activities within a state, overseeing all breeders, promoters, sponsors and Community Directors. State Directors (like most of our volunteers) may play a dual role, perhaps also maintaining a promotion pony, serving as a breeder, and hosting visiting children.

Regional Directors - The country is divided into ten regions, each supported by a Regional Director whose job is primarily to forge alliances with businesses, foundations and other charitable entities for the purpose of helping us raise the funds we need to support the growth of our program. If you are knowledgeable in fund-raising, we need you!

Breeders - Volunteer breeders generally maintain a breeding trio of one stallion and two mares that are provided by the organization. They are also often involved in community outreach. Our Breeding Program is essential to the growth of our program and our U.K.Shetland Ponies are a delight. Wouldn't you like them to be part of your life?

Promoters - Promoters are our roving ambassadors. They maintain a pony that is used to benefit the entire community as well as to spread the good news about our organization.

Promotion ponies are taken anywhere children can benefit from interacting with them and where we can tell people about our program. That means they may visit at convalescent homes, day care centers, therapeutic riding programs or at camps for cancer patients—or you might see a promotion pony marching in a parade, at a booth at your local fair, or just taking a walk down the street hoping to get noticed!

In the picture above, young volunteers march in a community parade carrying a PERSONAL PONIES banner to help promote the organization.

Sponsors - Sponsors maintain a pony for a family that cannot keep a pony at their own home. This means that they make their facilities available to the family and very often become very involved with their families and are instrumental in helping a child learn to bond with and care for their pony. Sponsored ponies may also be used as promotion ponies and be taken out into the community both to promote the organization and to serve the children of the community.

Community Directors - Community Directors are the backbone of PERSONAL PONIES! It is here, at the level of community, that the one-on-one work with our families happens. The Community Director screens potential recipients, teaches them about pony care, is instrumental in locating a pony that will be a good match for a family, and maintains an ongoing relationship with all families to be certain that both the needs of the child and the pony are being met.

Community Directors are also responsible for working directly with the promoters, breeders, sponsors in the community and educating the community about PERSONAL PONIES and the importance of the child-pony relationship.

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I am interested in becoming a volunteer, what do I do now?

If you believe in the work we do and would like to find out how you can help, contact your State Director to find out about what is needed in your area. Go meet the people who are active in your area, see our ponies, watch the smiles on our kids' faces.

If there isn't a PERSONAL PONIES community in your area, start one! Join our chat list and talk to members of our families and to our volunteers. Get to know us.

I can't keep a pony myself...how else can I help?

You don't need to take on the responsibilities of one of our ponies or even be experienced with horses to be part of our program! There are endless ways to help and an important part of every community are those people who make themselves available in support roles to the breeders, sponsors, promoters and community directors. WE NEED YOU!

There are countless ways to help, but here are just a few ideas ...

•Offer to help your local volunteer breeder, promoter or sponsor with their jobs—be a “hugger” of tiny, 16" foals, help out with cleaning tack, making warm winter blankets for tiny ponies, help bathe and groom older ponies, greet visitors, help with transporting ponies to events, help supervise visiting children.

•If you have experience with horses, volunteer to help train ponies. Our ponies need to be comfortable going ANYWHERE and be perfect models of composure. They must lead quietly beside a wheel chair, take the clamor of the brass brand in a parade with aplomb, lovingly accept the hugs of a dozen eager children with patience and care... If you are experienced with driving in harness, volunteer to teach ponies to drive or to ride.

•Do you have a truck and trailer? Would you be interested in helping us deliver ponies to our families? help to move our ponies across states (and sometimes across the country!).

•Do you have experience fund-raising? Writing grants? Writing press releases and getting media attention? Would you like to help educate your community about the word we do?

•How about putting our banner or a link on YOUR website so more people can find out about us? How about telling your friends about us?

•And PLEASE, help us with your contributions—we need lots of help with funding so that we can buy ponies for YOUR community.

The costs are minimal. The benefits are incalculable.

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