Down on the Farm - a Volunteering Adventure

Advocate III Diane Pichalski has been an Open Vistas Day Habilitation staff member for 11 years. Many of the people that participate in the program, Monday through Friday from 9 to 3, have chosen to stay year after year since the program’s inception in 1992 because of the creativity of staff people like Diane; she’s always exploring for and finding unique recreational activities and volunteer work to make the program increasingly more interesting.

Day Habilitation programs provide opportunities for participation in structured activities, which are designed to teach skills, increase independence, improve communication and socialization and provide recreational opportunities. Open Vistas seeks to offer activities, which enable people to achieve satisfying and rewarding relationships within the community as well as participation in activities, which are reflective of their personal interests and aspirations.

When Diane picked-up a brochure on the counter of an area retailer for Country Ark Farm located in Milford PA, she was immediately intrigued with the possibilities for the people she serves. The literature stated that the farm was "dedicated to enhancing life experiences for physically, mentally and emotionally-challenged children and adults". Located on a road appropriately named Genesis Drive in the beautiful Delaware River Highlands, the farm is home to a menagerie of cows, pigs, goats, birds, coati-mundis, sheep, emus, deer, horses, dogs and countless other well socialized animals ready to be touched, fed and experienced.

It took just one visit for Diane to realize the farm’s potential as a place where the folks in the day program could actually volunteer. "I really lucked-out in finding this wonderful place," Diane said. It was a year ago September when she solidified the relationship with Donna Ciancitto, director of with the care and feeding of the animals.

A Weekly Farm Experience Not for Everyone

It took a few months for the core group of volunteers comprised of George Bienfield, Yosef Zakon, Frank Monaco Teresa Murray and Ellen Maher to become apparent. It also took more than a few visits for Diane to convince Ellen, the most fashion conscious of the group, that it was O.K. to wear pants to work on the farm. She now knows that in the appropriate outfit she can comfortably be involved in all tasks at hand.

"Working at the farm has provided the guys with a lot of experience they didn’t have before," Diane said. "It has taught them the importance of following directions for the health and safety of themselves, the animals and other volunteers. They have learned a great deal about the environment and about how living things require specific needs to be met in order to thrive and be comfortable," she explained.

Diane also feels the people who go with her have come to understand a sense of order and the need for routine, sighting the example that the pens must be cleaned out before fresh bedding, water and feed are given to the animals. The work must be done, rain or shine. "And, when all the chores are done, we sit down to our brown bag lunches, discussing the morning’s accomplishments and our special relationships with certain animals," she added. When the group leaves the farm they wind their way through the quaint town of historical Milford, stopping at the local convenience store, where they are regulars, to pick-up a sweet treat for the ride back.

"Our guys are so good, Donna the director, keeps giving us more a little more to do each week", Diane said. Donna has a wealth of patience and encourages them to participate as much as they want to give. "She’s great teacher too. I learn something new every time I come to the farm."

For the people of Open Vistas, the farm provides a safe, friendly experience that respects everyone's individual skills. "The reward is the camaraderie that they have with the other volunteers, the feeling of self-esteem that comes from the productivity of the tasks involved and the unconditional appreciation they received from the animals," Donna explained.

"The people from Open Vistas are serious loving people, dedicated to the animals and their care. They are the only group that comes during inclement weather," Donna said. At that time she plans for an indoor activity in the lodge to make at least part of their time at the farm more pleasant. It could be a craft, the folding of newsletters about the farm, or the sorting of nuts and bolts for Donna’s husband Michael who is a contactor.

Country Ark Farm was founded in 1990 and is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization that focuses on enhancing the quality of life for people with disabilities through experiences involving animals, art, and recreational therapies. A visit to the 26-acre Country Ark Farm is truly an ethereal recreational adventure, one that the people from Open Vistas look forward to experiencing on a weekly basis. For more information phone Donna Ciancitto at 570-686-3480 or visit their website at www.countryarkfarm.org.

A Spiritual Lifestyle Built on Giving to Others

Country Ark Farm was founded in 1990 and is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization that focuses on enhancing the quality of life for people with disabilities through experiences involving animals, art, and recreational therapies.

After returning to New Jersey from their missionary work in Haiti and Mexico, Michael and Donna Ciancitto wanted to find a way to make helping others into a lifestyle. "We wanted to continue doing the Lord’s work," Donna said. "Our hearts were burdened by what we saw of other peoples' lives. We wanted to change our self-centered existence into a life that would make a difference," she explained.

While working for NJ Bell, Donna participated in the company's employee community outreach program, called The Pioneers, that worked with people with disabilities. Through this experience she envisioned a farm built specifically for the disabled. According to Donna, at this time pet and recreational therapy were just becoming accepted practices. "Our vision for the inception of our life's work was to have domestic and exotic animals with a Christian theme for the farm," Donna explained. The Ciancitto's owned a large piece of wooded property. They put in a road, named it Genesis Drive and the first chapter of the life their hearts were led to was written. At the end of this beautiful country road they built Country Ark Farm.