GOLDEN HILLS SCHOOL

Services for Disabled, Disadvantaged, and At-Risk Youth

Part of the mission of Access Adventure is to provide education opportunities for underserved members of our community.  One of our programs that has been flying quietly “under the radar” at Rush Ranch for the past several years is our weekly collaboration with Golden Hills School.  Under the direction of SPECIAL Education teacher Judy Waelbrock and other staff members from the school, special needs students volunteer for work projects that help Access Adventure.  Usually four to six students come out to the ranch each week to pitch in and help wherever needed.

They come ready to work, bringing hats, gloves, work boots and sunscreen.  They don’t shy away from the dirty work…usually involving a shovel.  We might call it by the high falutin’ term “manure management” but it is shoveling sh*t, pure and simple, a task that every horse owner knows.  Weeding, cleaning out the barn, feeding horses or cleaning tack, the students cheerfully tackle any task assigned to them. Along the way, they are learning to work together, follow instructions and take satisfaction in completing a task and doing it well.  We help them to write a resume in order to secure their first employment.  They can count on a heartfelt letter of recommendation from us to secure that job.

In addition to our weekly programs with Golden Hills School, Access Adventure regularly connects with other disabled, disadvantaged and at-risk youth at schools throughout the Bay Area and with field trips to our Rush Ranch headquarters.