East Woods Students Stirrup Service

Oyster Bay, N.Y. (June 17, 2019) –The eighth grade students from the East Woods School recently participated in a brand new Leadership Program established by the Head of School, Laura Kang. As part of the program, students met and heard from the executive directors of seven non-profits in the fall. After learning about the mission, programs, financial structure and goals of each program, they had the difficult task of choosing one to support with their year-long project.

The students chose to help and support the Pal-O-Mine Equestrian Center located in Islandia, NY. Pal-O-Mine is a non-profit organization whose goal is to provide a comprehensive therapeutic equine program using horses to aid growth, learning, and healing. Individuals that utilize this organization consist of children and adults with disabilities, those who have been abused or neglected, the military and the economically compromised. The students as a group performed 26 volunteer hours of work and labor onsite.

“It was truly a pleasure to work with this group of students.” said Rachel Gearwar, LMSW and staff member. “I look forward to their contributions to the world and know they will leave a mark on the world as great as they did here at Pal-O-Mine.” From the time the students walked onto the property, they demonstrated respect for themselves, their peers, staff/volunteers and all of the animals. They were asked to hand in any electronics they had in order to strengthen peer relationships and gain the most enjoyment out of the time they spent with the animals and each other. At the completion of their Leadership program, the students traveled back to Pal-O-Mine to deliver almost $2,000 worth of cash, gift cards and wish list items to Lisa Gatti, CEO and Founder of Pal-O-Mine.

Other parts of the Leadership Program over the course of the academic year involved students participating in a fundraiser. Fundraising taught them how to go about soliciting and documenting gifts as well as how to thank donors properly. The students wrote and spoke publicly throughout the year about the importance of their chosen project in order to generate interest and enthusiasm from within their own community and from corporate donors. Students also generated an opportunity to care for and lead children, and traveled to Citi field in May with assigned Kindergarten buddies to help the school’s chaperones ensure the kindergartners’ safety and enjoyment.

For more information about the East Woods School, please visit: www.eastwoods.org