Volunteer spotlight: Shannon Santoro
Shannon Santoro moved to New Jersey in 2022, just a few minutes away from Mane Stream. Every day on her way home, she noticed the “stunning” horses by the roadside and became captivated. Shannon imagined what it would be like to work at such a place. One day, she noticed a sign that read “Volunteers Needed” and decided to sign up since she met the age criteria.
In the past year, Shannon has learned much about our participants having volunteered with adaptive riding, Girl Scouts, camp, and therapy for a total of 74 hours so far. “Differences are a thing that should be celebrated, not singled out, and every human being deserves to be treated with the utmost respect, dignity, and kindness when you meet them, no matter what assumptions you may have made about that person.”
PATH Certified Instructor, Kelly Champion, has enjoyed seeing Shannon come out of her shell these past few months. “Shannon is now part of the team! And it really shows that she cares about the participants, horses, and volunteers alike.”
Shannon shared, “My favorite program is summer camp. I love getting to be a part of camp because of how many different kinds of people I get to interact with each week. There is also a fun variety of activities during camp. I also love watching the kids apply all of the different skills they learn throughout the week during the Friday horse show for the parents. I love seeing the proud smiles on all the kids’ faces at the end when they hold up their well-deserved certificates.”
When we asked Shannon who her favorite horse was she smiled and said, “Don (Donald), because he is such a gentle giant. He may look intimidating from afar due to his massive build and midnight brown coat but he is such a sweet and silly goofball once you get to know him.”
We asked Shannon what her most rewarding moment was she shared, “During the winter riding session at Woodpond Manor, I was granted the opportunity to work with a little ball of sunshine named Penelope. I still remember the session in which she not only remembered my name for the first time but pronounced it loudly and clearly. During a session that took place right around Valentine’s Day, Kelly placed paper hearts on the floor of the arena with questions on the other side. The rider was supposed to guide the horse over to a heart of their choosing and have the nearest volunteer pick it up for them and show them the question. One of the questions Penelope got was “Who is your favorite Mane Stream volunteer?” she said that I was, and that was just the most rewarding thing for me. It really helped me see that I do make a difference for people and everything I do is paying off.”
Thanks for being an important part of the team, Shannon!
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Consider Joining the Volunteer Team!
https://www.manestreamnj.org/volunteeropportunities
