A Few Minutes with Cynthia Renteria

An Oceanside native, Cynthia graduated from El Camino High School, located on the same street as Ivey Ranch Park Association, an inspiring non-profit program where she pursues her life’s work of helping others.

Founded in 1981, Ivey Ranch Park each week serves hundreds of children and adults with physical and emotional disabilities, providing a wide range of educational and recreational activities on its 12-acre campus.

Before joining Ivey Ranch Park on a full-time basis as a volunteer coordinator in 2017, she served two 10-month stints at the center on behalf of LISC AmeriCorps, a social service training program funded by LISC San Diego.

A graduate of Cal State San Marcos, Cynthia oversees more than 800 volunteers who lend their time, expertise, and compassion to Ivey Ranch’s many programs, including on-site child care and its popular equestrian training facility.

What is it about the background that brought you to this role?

I’ve always been a person who wants to help others, especially those who are less unfortunate. Growing up, going back to when I was a little girl, I helped my parents take care of extended family members with disabilities. And when I went to school, I always gravitated to making friends with classmates who had special needs. So, this is a natural role for me.

What is the most fulfilling aspect of what you do?

Being able to see the joy in their faces, the physical and emotional connection our clients make with our therapy horses – that’s the joy I get to see every day. And that’s how I know we’re making a difference in their lives.

What’s the most challenging?

Knowing that we depend a lot on our volunteers, making sure that they’re going to be here can sometimes be a challenge. For certain services, if we don’t have enough volunteer support, we may not be able to provide that service, which is always disappointing.

How much disruption has Covid caused to what Ivey Ranch provides?

Quite a lot, especially in the beginning when we didn’t know how serious it would turn out to be. We had to completely close the facility for several months, but we had volunteers who helped make sure that our horses stayed healthy. Now, we’re back to full operations.

Looking back, what did your AmeriCorps experience mean to you?

Because of AmeriCorps, I was able to become a full-time volunteer coordinator, and I learned so much about what we do here every day. Even though I grew up on the same street as Ivey Ranch, until I was hired here, I didn’t know the full extent of what we do to serve the community and those with special needs.

What’s the magic that exists between therapy horses and youngsters with special needs?

I’d say it’s a lack of judgment from the horses. Especially for our younger children, just being around them seems to bring out more confidence and a greater sense of self-worth. They love our horses and our horses love them back. It’s a joy to watch.