Shrink Rap with Dr. Laurie Johnson, "The Volunteers' Creed" by Dr. J

                                  The Volunteers' Creed... by a thankful Dr. J!

Reggie Showers inspires our Volunteers while checking out our four legged volunteers! 

Recently, I had the extraordinary chance to welcome folks to McKeever's First Ride in Atlanta, for our 13th event. We are an OPAF First Clinic, and our goal is to encourage Amputees and O& P clients to stretch toward the next level of a dynamic life! Whatever limb differences they may have, we want to help them to build a life they can love, that impacts this world!

Military and Civilian participants demonstrated courage to step toward a brighter future!

 This year, we had two amazing Guest Speakers, Dale Beatty (Purple Heart Homes) and Reggie Showers (The World's Fastest Amputee!) These two men are giants of courage, compassion, and encouragement! You can find their moving remarks on our website, www.mckeeversfirstride.com.

Volunteers--first to arrive on Friday night, last to leave Saturday long after the event concluded! We love our Volunteers!

   

        At McKeever's First Ride, we welcome kids as young as two years old and as seasoned as 76 years old, to "horse around." This can include engaging in Adaptive riding, adaptive roping, therapeutic carriage driving, therapeutic massage, ortho-bionomy, arts & crafts, mini horse activities, and petting zoo fun.  I hope to share more about this event, in the future. But in the meantime, I want to share what I've penned as "The Volunteers' Creed" in honor of the most generous, sacrificial, passionate volunteers that ever assembled. Many of our volunteers have been with us since 2009.

We treasure them. They have truly demonstrated the best of the human spirit, which I attempted to capture in this brief credo:

 Dr. J's Volunteer Creed: "I am second, I am not first. Life is not about my comfort or convenience. It is about my service and my availability. It is about my being at my post, ready for those who will or might need me. The reward of serving, is not in the number of people I served and counted, but in the number of people who could count on me."

Thanks, to all the volunteers of McKeever's First Ride...and to Volunteers everywhere, who live by this creed. God bless you, all!

Dr. Laurie Johnson, LPC  
Co-Founder, McKeever's First Ride
www.mckeeversfirstride.com