William Scharp has been with True North Training Stables, an organization that provides equestrian therapy to at-risk youth and their families, since 2014. He serves as the original treasurer and a mentor to the kids who visit.
Every day is new for Scharp at True North Training Stables.
“We accept anyone and everyone to True North regardless of their status. In the mornings, we normally get our staff together and pray, and we'll also plan out the day. In the morning we also have to bring out the horses, get all of them fed, and ready to go. Then we'll start seeing clients around 10 or 11 in the morning, and all the clients' sessions are one to two hours long," said Scharp.
Days at True North involve more than just mentoring the kids, though. As Scharp described, his responsibilities also involve training the volunteers who give their time to the organization.
"We do a lot of training with our volunteers who are mentors and also our family ambassadors. We do Bible studies, we do studies on counseling kids and also counseling families. That's normally sprinkled throughout the afternoon. Then we normally finish up our day after everyone's all gone. We bring all the horses back in and then we're gonna do it all over again the next day,” said Scharp.
One of the perks of working at True North is that Scharp is able to bring his family to work to enjoy the activities too.
“My normal Sunday I'm just out of the farm for most of the day with my family, and we do all those different activities because there are no clients out there on a Sunday,” said Scharp.
While working at True North, Sharp has been able to make many strong connections with the kids that go there.
“My second year of working at True North, I was mentoring this boy. He was selectively mute; his struggle was he really would not communicate with people. But sometimes he would actually talk to animals. He talked to cats and dogs, but he really would not communicate with people. I'm a very outgoing person and obviously, he's introverted. The first couple sessions with him were a lot of me talking and him just kind of staring, which was fine, but then I learned that he really just wanted peace," said Scharp.
Through Scharp's sessions with this young boy, he started to learn that he could instead teach him how to interact with the horses since this brought him comfort even though he wasn't ready to communicate yet.
"On our third session, I asked him, ‘What do you want to do today?’ And he actually answered me. He said, ‘Can I just sit there?' and he pointed next to a spot with the horse that he worked with by a tree. So we went and we sat there for I think about 30 minutes. The horse that he works with actually came over and sat almost right next to him. He just got up and started petting the horse, then he started talking," said Scharp. "He started talking to me a little bit. His mom actually said that when he's at school now, he'll answer questions and is more outgoing, and he actually still comes out to True North sometimes to volunteer. But he was a client with us for like five years and I just saw so much growth in that boy."
Scharp’s favorite part about working at True North is the strong relationships like these that he is able to make with not only the kids that come to the farm, but also the families and the volunteers.
“I love the difference that the volunteers and I make with these kids. We're not paying people; we see volunteers come and go. But we've got 10 volunteers that have been here every year, and honestly, they've actually grown the amount of people we have because they tell their friends that they really enjoy being here. We all see the positive impact that we're making with these kids and their families and that's what just keeps bringing people back,” said Scharp.
Outside of work, Scharp loves to spend time with his family. They like to spend a lot of time outdoors.
“We do a lot of camping, so we're definitely big outdoors people. We try to go to a different national park each year and then typically we tend to camp about 12 weekends a year as a family. A lot of times we go with friends or we make friends while we're out camping,” said Scharp
Scharp is very passionate about the work that is done at True North, and he is proud to call it his place of work each day.
“We are free to everyone in the community. Anyone that wants to come out to True North is welcome and it doesn't matter what the kids' problem is. Bullying, disability, hardships around being adopted, or anything like that. Really for us, we just want to try and show love and compassion to these kids and families and help meet them where they are and improve their situation,” said Scharp
For more information about and how to donate to True North Training Stables, visit their website at the link here.