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VOLUNTEER NEWS
by Jill Pokorny
August 2011

No act of kindness, no matter how small,
is ever wasted. – Aesop

On a visit to London I frequently used the Tube (like the D.C. Metro system) to travel around the city. While waiting for the train to pull up into the station you would constantly hear the voice over the intercom informing you to “Mind the Gap,” meaning you need to be aware of the space between the train and the platform as you board. The first few times I heard this I chuckled to myself and thought, “Why on earth do they need to remind people of this? Isn’t the need to step over the gap obvious?” It became so commonplace for me to hear the overhead reminder “Mind the Gap” that I came to ignore it even in my short time visiting the city. That was until the next to last day of my trip.

The train pulled into the station and I noticed the gap was actually quite large. The train doors opened and a mother exited the train with her daughter following behind her. The little one was not paying attention and as she inched forward she plummeted into the gap between the platform and the train. The mother continued walking completely unaware as the crowd around her was bustling with people getting on and off the train. I was in complete disbelief at what my eyes had seen but before I could even call out to the conductor, a man jumped from the platform into the gap. He did not stop to think about the train moving. Nor did he consider the condition of his well-tailored business suit or his busy schedule. He jumped in because he knew he was needed and that without him the girl would surely perish.

The man raised the little girl to safety on the platform and they both escaped from the depths below with just a moment to spare before the doors closed and the train departed. I stood in awe as the man dusted himself off and waited for the next train. No words were spoken. The little girl ran to catch up with her mother who had turned around to look for her and was fretting over how dirty the little girl had suddenly become. I missed my train that day, but I walked away understanding why the intercom constantly reminded passengers to “mind the gap” because I had learned how treacherous the gap can truly be.

As volunteers we are frequently hearing the call to “Mind the Gap.” We hear the call to “Mind the Gap” in requests for donations and for our time. We get so swamped with emails requesting us to volunteer - to fill in the gaps in the schedule and to use our talents to help meet the needs of horses that were previously overlooked. We hear the call so often that we begin to drown them out, yet the “gap,” the need for help for our horses, still remains.

Now the summer is coming to an end and soon the students will be returning to schools, so let us call out to you again to “Mind the Gap;” to bridge the large gaps that are found in the schedules of all of our facilities by sharing of ourselves, our time, our talents and our resources at DEFHR. We need your help to care for the horses at the satellite facilities but there are so many ways that you can help us answer at DEFHR in addition to helping at the main barn and satellite location. We need people with experience or interest in:

  • Public Relations/Marketing
  • Grant Writing
  • Data Entry
  • Office Work
  • Construction
  • Plumbing
  • Electrical Work
  • Education
  • I.T.
  • Writing or Editing
If you are experienced or interested in any of these areas and would like to use your talents at DEFHR please contact Jill

Also, Fall Fest is right around the corner and we still need help filling all the gaps in the 220 volunteer positions this year. If you are available September 24th and have not submitted a Fall Fest Volunteer Request email, please email me as soon as possible at volunteer@defhr.org. We need you to make our Fall Fest a success!!

Thank you so much to all of you who give so freely of yourselves to make DEFHR’s dreams possible! We could not do this without you!

Jill Pokorny, Volunteer Coordinator Email: Jill