Priscilla Hartling

When personal and organizational needs align, all kinds of good things happen.

Commercial Loan Specialist Priscilla Hartling, who works in our corporate office, has a daughter who needed volunteer experience to qualify for a program created under former Wisconsin Gov. Jim Doyle.

Wisconsin Covenant*, a path to higher education for young people, required that students graduate from high school with at least a B average, demonstrate good citizenship and community participation through volunteerism, apply for state and federal financial aid, and apply to a UW system school or technical college or to a Wisconsin private college or university.

Meeting the requirements would assure enrollees a financial aid package determined by grades and family need.

Priscilla’s son, Robert, now a senior at Nathan Hale High School in West Allis, participated in the program and will be receiving his covenant package this spring. Because he was interested in the medical field, he volunteered at West Allis Memorial Hospital.

But daughter Stephanie’s career interest, marine biology, made it harder to find relevant volunteer experience fairly close to home. “Stephanie is concerned about the environment and the well-being of animals and people,” Priscilla says. “I found Stepping Stone Farm online and noticed a request for volunteers.” Because Stephanie needs transportation from their West Allis home to Franksville, Priscilla goes along.

Therapist with farrier experience created farm, but counts on volunteers
Certified therapist Lia Sader started nonprofit Stepping Stone Farm in 2005. She combined her therapy background with her experience as a farrier — someone who specializes in caring for horses’ hooves — to create a setting where those struggling with life’s adversity come to heal, to learn and to grow.

Stepping Stone Farm uses horses to provide therapy to those in need.

Although Lia has a paid therapist who assists with sessions, as sole farm owner, Lia counts on volunteers to play a vital role in farm operations. Every Saturday morning, Priscilla and Stephanie head to the farm and work from 8:30 until about noon — “or sometimes longer if needed,” Priscilla says.

“I help feed the horses and chickens and do whatever else I can to make myself useful while I’m there,” she says. But for privacy reasons, she is not allowed to interact with the people who come for therapy.

“Stephanie cleans the stalls, feeds the horses and whatever else needs doing. She also sometimes helps in the therapy sessions,” Priscilla says. “If some of the younger kids are scared or if someone is not completely comfortable, she serves as a ‘walker,’ gently leading the horses.”

Rescue horses help to rescue people

Referrals for the people who come to the farm can originate from sources such as military veteran programs, the Boys and Girls Club of Milwaukee, the Center for Teaching Entrepreneurship, and Teens Riding out Trouble — TROT — for middle- and high-school kids who need help with motivation, self-esteem and purpose in life.

“All of the therapy horses are rescue horses,” Priscilla notes. “I have to think that when the people who come for therapy see the scars some of the horses have, they realize that even if you have scars — physical or emotional — you can lead a good and productive life. That’s how the farm got its name; it’s a stepping stone to help these folks move on to the next level of their lives.”

The program operates year-round, and Priscilla admits that cold winter mornings can be brutal. “There’s a dome to keep the stable and riders out of the wind, but it’s not heated. The elements can be a challenge,” she says, noting that Lia hopes to be able to heat the dome at some point.

Although the drive takes only 20 minutes, “It feels like hours from the city, and it makes me realize that there is a whole other world out there that is so different from my own — and that I can make a difference, be it big or small. Being on the farm is calming. It puts things in perspective in a way that helps me in all other aspects of life.”

For more information about Stepping Stone Farm, see: http://www.steppingstonefarms.org

*Wisconsin Covenant ended when Doyle’s term ended and will cease when existing enrollees fulfill their commitment.