Volunteer Opportunities 

RB Volunteers DSCN0004 MJ and Malone RB Volunteers Volunteers Holly Holford - volunteer

In keeping with Red Bucket’s commitment, we always make decisions that are in the best interest of the horses. Red Bucket is a volunteer-based organization. Our unique organizational design is created to achieve the highest level of care for our horses and increase retention and loyalty of our volunteer base. Red Bucket volunteers are responsible for all levels of ranch activities, not only taking care of our horses, but a variety of activities that are essential to our success. We have several committees that need your help, passion and creativity to serve our meaningful cause. If you would like to get involved with Red Bucket, please complete a volunteer application!

 CLICK HERE FOR VOLUNTEER APPLICATION

 

Here are just a few ways you can get involved:

  • Fundraising is desperately needed on behalf of the horses, and is a vital responsibility for all Red Bucket volunteers.
  • Ranch Care and Maintenance: gardening, laundry, cleaning tack and storage rooms, carpentry work, painting, electrical and much more.
  • Sunday Stall Cleaning:If you are a person that is handy with tools, enjoys working outside and can handle physical labor, the stall care team would like to talk to you. The stall care team manages the overall cleaning, maintenance, bedding, water bowls, and safety of our Red Bucket horse stalls.  Duties include: cleaning stalls, raking, cleaning hay and feed bins, cleaning water dispensers and insuring that they are in working condition.
  • Administration: clerical duties, organization, data input, mailings, etc.
  • Marketing, Events and Publicity: apparel sales, social media, event planning, database management, direct mail, retention programs and graphic design.
  • Horse Care: grooming, hand walking, cleaning buckets and grooming supplies, caring for and nurturing our horses.
  • Feed Crew: We are currently looking for responsible, dedicated volunteers who have horse experience and are comfortable around horses to assist with “buckets” in the morning, at night and on weekends. We ask for a minimum commitment of two days due to the complexity of the buckets. Each day is a 2-3 hour commitment. We feed daily and remove blankets in the winter. The horses receive their buckets as a supplemental feeding during nighttime wellness checks. Diets are prepared based on a horse’s individual needs and are assessed and adjusted throughout their stay with us. It is difficult to keep up with each horse’s individual and medical needs with only one day per week. You will be trained extensively by our feed crew coordinator. 
  • Recycling Program: We need a team to promote the need to recycle for our horses. The team will collect beverage cans and bottles, take them to a recycling facility, and bring the cash to the Red Bucket visitor’s center. If every volunteer household recycled 25 cans a week for the horses, the money would pay for one month of board and save one horse that we would otherwise not be able to be save. The recycling team is important to the Red Bucket mission. A team member would commit from 3 to 15 hours a month.

Ways that you can help:

    • Recycle your beverage cans, and bottles and bring them to the ranch to be recycled
    • Donate large garbage bags to be used in the “Red” recycle bins at the ranch
    • Empty recycle bins at the ranch and bring to an approved center for redemption
    • Start your own local recycle program to help us to help the horses (school, sporting events, family outings)

 

PLEASE NOTE: All Red Bucket volunteers start out by getting involved with one or more of the above activities before actually caring for the horses. At times, this can be disappointing if a volunteer has their heart set on working directly with the horses. The majority of Red Bucket horses have been found alone, abandoned, starving and left to die. This experience for the horses oftentimes has led to intimacy, trust and relationship issues and they are in the process of being rehabilitated, which takes time and experience.

 

We are grateful to be able to do this work and are committed to helping those who want to help the horses. Red Bucket builds on the positives and creates a reliable and safe environment, with opportunities for meaningful involvement and increasing responsibility, over time, for all volunteers.