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Sonja Hodges, executive assistant and outreach coordinator
at ETC, hears similar sentiments from other volunteers
who work in the medical field. "Here, you get to
experience the triumphs with those who have disabilities.
You see the joy of someone going beyond what they are
capable of. One of the beauties of sea kayaking is that,
when you're out there with a group, everyone looks the
same. You can't tell who uses a chair."
"Being with ETC adds to who you are," Rico
said. "As guides we get more out of the trips than
participants do. It is fairly low-key adventure for
most of us, but there is a sense of fulfillment and
personal growth. It feels good to help people."
Coyle enjoys sharing the outdoors and sea kayaking
with people who wouldn't normally have access to them.
"We've seen whales out in the bay. You watch the
smiles, the excitement. It is a really nice meld of
many things-working with people and exposing them to
the beauty and wonder. I love exposing people to something
I love."
"At ETC, we believe strongly in the power of outdoor
adventures for learning about yourself, challenging
yourself, building self-esteem and confidence, helping
you to grow and break away from stereotypes," Hodges
said.
Although the organization exists to offer those benefits
to participants, the volunteers experience them, too.
Volunteers don't need previous experience with people
with disabilities or in the outdoors, Hodges said. ETC
has a rigorous volunteer training program that includes
wilderness skills, leadership, environmental education
(which is incorporated into each trip), disability awareness
and first aid (a piece of cake for nurses). Volunteers
do pay for training, depending on what they need, but
then do not pay for trip expenses, food or lodging.
ETC also offers skills practice days and fun paddle
trips just for guides, opportunities to practice and
stay in touch.
On any particular trip, Coyle said, the volunteers
do everything, from meeting the participants to gathering
the gear and setting up, then pairing participants with
guides, depending on abilities. ETC volunteers also
work with staff or volunteers who come with some groups.
They coordinate games to help orient participants and
teach them pertinent safety for the activity. At the
end of a trip, they debrief and send the group on its
way, then break down and put away equipment. Outside
of trips, volunteers help with outreach to the community.
Other organizations offer similar opportunities for
adventuresome nurses. Colorado's Breckenridge Outdoor
Education Center takes around 3,500 people a year out
on the ski slopes during the winter and into the wilderness
in summer.
"The experience we provide is often the first
outdoor experience someone has ever had," said
Roch Horton, administrative coordinator for the 27-year-old
organization. "When the course is over and we ask
participants about the experience, they always say the
volunteering was the most important."
Volunteers help with equipment, cooking, cleaning and
transportation, Horton said, as well as hands-on assistance
with participants who need it. They are there for safety
reasons and to help with practical matters like getting
participants in and out of rafts or onto ski lifts,
but also to provide companionship and conversation.
On the ski slopes, volunteers often are assisting an
instructor, so there may be a ratio of two or even three
people to one participant. Regular volunteers receive
a season pass to the ski slopes, Horton said.
"Our volunteers need to like the outdoors. Nurses
are generally patient and that is an attribute we really
need," he said. "Nurses also may have flexible
schedules that allow them to get involved in this kind
of work. They are dedicated to helping people, and that
is what we do."
Contact Melissa Gaskill at mlg6310@sbcglobal.net
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