PALS service helps rejuvenate the disabled

Using saddles and riding boots, volunteers with People and Animal Learning Services are working to rehabilitate disabled individuals in the community.

According to PALStherapy.org, PALS is a nonprofit organization in Bloomington offering individuals with disabilities the chance to develop their functional skills and outlook on life.

PALS accomplishes this by providing lessons on horseback riding and educational programs.

Volunteers for PALS have devoted their time to helping disabled children and adults since 2000. These patients come to PALS with impairments including ADHD, amputations and muscular dystrophy.

Anyone who volunteers with PALS has the duty of leading horses and side-walking riders. Volunteers also groom, saddle, train and generally care for horses, as well as help with barn chores.

PALS organizes various educational programs and camp opportunities designed to improve the lives of seniors, adults and children ages four and older.

Executive Director Fern Bonchek has been there since the beginning. Growing up, Bonchek’s family dedicated their lives to providing riding lessons for individuals with disabilities within the community. She was exposed to a community of recreational programs that were made specifically for disabled people.

After training for years with the Shea Center — a therapeutic riding program in Orange County, Calif., — Bonchek decided to bring her talents to Bloomington, where she provided a sense of hope for at-risk children and the disabled.

“Getting the opportunity to see the lives of children being recuperated with our facility is truly an enlightening experience,” Bonchek said. “We get about 150 volunteers that come in each week. These people volunteer at PALS because they want to learn new skills, build relationships, gain class credit and receive the opportunity to give back.”

This project encompasses a collaborative partnership with other charities such as Big Brothers Big Sisters of South Central Indiana, Project LEAD and Equine Experiential Education Program.

The partnerships were formed to provide participants with skills essential for becoming productive community citizens, as well as to enhance the relationship they develop with their mentors.

PALS has also been instrumental in providing equine-assisted activities and therapies for clients from 11 counties across the state.

“We have provided over 17,600 therapeutic horseback riding lessons these last couple years,” said Cindy Lisenbardt, a PALS volunteer and current riding instructor. “Through this service, I have met and helped so many people of different ages. It is self-comforting to know that I made a difference in someone’s life.”