Written by: Dana Willett, Volunteer Manager & Equine Specialist 

At Colorado Horse Rescue, we have close to 200 active volunteers who donate their time to the rescue each week. These dedicated individuals spend time mucking, feeding, watering, grooming, hand walking, and helping with property maintenance on the ranch.  

In 2023, 195 active volunteers donated 16,194 hours to the rescue, which is the equivalent of 7.8 full time employees. Each year the Independent Sector calculates the hourly dollar value of volunteer time. For 2023, that amount was $31.80. 

This is a value of over half a million dollars. 

It wasn’t always this way for CHR. Great numbers of volunteers were lost throughout Covid due to health-related constraints and workplace regulations. Building back from that deficit on a minimal budget required ingenuity and creative thinking.  

As a Benevity report reveals, volunteerism is on the rise, especially in the area of animal welfare. We have learned by soliciting feedback that our volunteers value most the camaraderie, teamwork, and friendships fostered during their time at the rescue.  

This year, we built on that and created a Volunteer Day of Appreciation, asking our volunteers to help design the events. Seeking an opportunity to socialize with other shift teams, the day featured the “VOLympics,” comprising a hay toss challenge, lasso skills, hobby horse design, team mucking, and more.  

It was great fun, and we distributed many recognition awards, including creative categories like Perfect Attendance, Water Warriors and Super Substitutes. The feedback has been overwhelmingly positive, and the dedication of our volunteers is stronger than ever.  

We say it often: Colorado Horse Rescue could not function without the active contributions of our volunteers. We have the BEST volunteers, and we are so grateful! 

Interested in working on a barn shift at Colorado Horse Rescue? Fill out a Volunteer Application at chr.org.