A volunteering teenager of Riding for the Disabled Association (RDA) named James Wiseman explains how this experience has saved him. At the 50th anniversary of the organization, Wiseman presented a report on the benefits of volunteering. In investigations funded by Sport England, the RDA looked into who its 18,000 “vital” volunteers are, and how they feel about giving up their time.
The report focused on the “dual benefit” of volunteering for the RDA – not only does it mean participants can benefit from riding and carriage driving, but the volunteers themselves also enjoy benefits to their mental and physical health. James, a carriage driving coach who also volunteers with riding activities at the Park Lane Stables RDA in London, said that two years ago, he would not have been able to address guests in the House of Commons, including MPs and charity supporters.
“My home life was a struggle so I wasn’t outgoing and I struggled with depression,” he said. “The yard helped me better myself; they showed me what was right and wrong and that the way the boys in my area were going wasn’t right. I hadn’t done well at school; I always tried but had never passed anything in my life, that was my first ever certificate,” he added. “Helping with the horses and the groups made me feel needed. My confidence went up, and my depression went down.
“It saved me really. Natalie [O’Rourke, the yard owner] takes people and fixes them; she changes them into proper people.” Asked where he would be without the RDA, James said: “Probably selling drugs, like the other boys in my area, causing problems, harassing locals and selling things I shouldn’t have my hands on. I could even have been stabbed – people I know have been – and I didn’t want that. Why would I want to ruin my life any more?
