Congratulations to Daniel Hernandez, our new volunteer of the month. Volunteer Services Manager Michele Gingras says, “Daniel is a volunteer that can fly under the radar. With his easygoing personality and his ability to lead with confidence, he is an asset to our clients and staff.’

Why we love him: Daniel is one of our rock-steady volunteers who is an experienced sidewalker, leader, and member of the barn crew. Daniel can lead any program horse in the barn with calm and confident energy, which relaxes our energetic horses, and has an impressive level of patience necessary to animate our more pokey equines.

Road to The Shea Center: Daniel heard about The Shea Center while volunteering at a horse rescue facility located in Trabuco Canyon.

Years of service: “I have been happy volunteering for about seven years.”

Lessons learned: “During my time here, I have learned to be grateful for the small things in life and not take myself too seriously.”

Favorite Shea Center memories: “One of my favorite memories is hearing a young client speak for the first time as I was leading the horse, which made me feel thankful for the opportunity to be a part of something amazing.”

When not at The Shea Center, he can be found doing this: “I work in the mental health field, as well as being a published author (a self-help book for teens titled A Teen’s Guide to Juvenile Hall and a soon-to-be-published humorous life experiences book titled The Seven Lakes: Beauty and Pain). I’m a musician who had the pleasure of playing with my two sons and had my music played on the radio.” Daniel plays bass and keyboard in a pop/punk band.

He finds his bliss doing this: “Helping others; I also volunteer as a counselor once a week at Saddleback Church.”