Celebrating 40 Years of Providing Homes
02/18/2016

This year, the Arkansas Sheriffs’ Youth Ranches celebrates its 40th Anniversary. For 40 years, the Ranches have provided homes for boys and girls who have been abandoned, abused, and neglected.

SheriffsGroundBreakingtuWhen the sheriffs of Arkansas founded the Ranches in 1976, they saw a need for children who were being overlooked and falling through the cracks. These children had no good options for a home life and no one to turn to. So sheriffs, with the help of individuals in their communities, raised support to build a home for boys to begin meeting that need.

Since then, the Ranches have grown and have given more than 1,300 boys and girls from every corner of the state a place to call home. But the need for homes for Arkansas’s foster care children has never been greater.

Last August, Governor Asa Hutchinson declared that the Arkansas foster care system was in a state of crisis. There simply are not enough foster homes in the state to house the 7,698 children who entered the Arkansas foster care system last year.

_MG_6362But YOU can help. At the Arkansas Sheriffs’ Youth Ranches we are giving Arkansas foster care children a place to call home. A place where they can still live with their brothers and sisters, even after a parent has failed them. A place to build a brighter future, for as long as they need to stay. A place to learn to trust again and be part of a family. For the very first time in many of their lives, these children are not just surviving – they are thriving!

YOU make that home possible with every gift you give to the Arkansas Sheriffs’ Youth Ranches. Thanks to YOU, when a child comes to the Ranches, home is exactly what they experience. Because when we say “home,” we don’t mean a bed in a dormitory with a cafeteria style meal. The boys and girls who live at the Ranches stay in a real home with houseparents who love and care for them like their own children. They stay in a house with seven other children who come from similar situations and have experienced the many of the same things they have.

_MG_5685Another aspect that makes the Ranches unique are the fact that we are a real working ranch. At our Batesville campus, our Ranch boys and girls are helping raise a registered Hereford beef herd. The boys and girls love being able to work with these gentle cows, and raising the cattle is giving our children educational, real world experience. It teaches discipline, self-sustainability, and respect for the animals as well as a day’s work.

For 40 years, YOU have helped make the Arkansas Sheriffs’ Youth Ranches the organization it is with your support of our mission. And for that, we cannot thank you enough! But we need YOUR continued help to care for the children who will need a place to call home in our next 40 years.

_MG_6467Will you join us today by making a gift? Please consider how YOU can provide homes for even more of Arkansas’s foster care children with a gift to the Arkansas Sheriffs’ Youth Ranches.

Thank you for your compassion and your consideration.

Gratefully yours,

Nancy Weaver, CEO
Arkansas Sheriffs Youth Ranches

P.S. Our houseparents hear many heartbreaking stories from our boys and girls. But hearing the words “thank you” from a child melts their hearts and gives them hope to continue on! YOU make that possible with every gift you make to the Ranches.

YOU can become a Hope Builder with a monthly gift to the Ranches. It’s an easy and secure way that YOU can show your commitment to caring for Arkansas foster care children. Click here to make your gift today.

_MG_5562Did you know that a monthly contribution of just $25 can provide:

•  New shoes for up to six of our boys and girls
•  A monthly allowance for one child
•  Caps and gowns for all of our graduates
•  Birthday gifts for 12 children
•  Feed for our Rancher’s horses for one month

 

Help Us Send Sheriff Doc Holladay Over the Edge!
02/12/2016

Over the Edge Holladay copyWould you dare to rappel off of a 14 story building? What if it was to support your favorite charity?

On Saturday, April 2nd, Pulaski County Sheriff Doc Holladay will go “Over the Edge” and rappel from the top of the 14 story First Security Bank building in Little Rock’s River Market to raise funds and awareness for the children who call the Arkansas Sheriffs’ Youth Ranches home.

Join us in supporting Sheriff Holladay “Over the Edge” and the Ranches by donating to our Over the Edge campaign page here. You can also help by spreading the word about this campaign by sharing our campaign link via Facebook and Twitter and use the hashtag‪ #‎OvertheEdgeLR‬. 

Then join us in the River Market on Saturday, April 2nd at 11:00 AM to cheer on Sheriff Holladay as he goes Over the Edge for our Ranch boys and girls!

Double the Impact of YOUR Gift During ArkansasGives
02/12/2016

 

email banner save the dateOn Thursday, April 7th, the Arkansas Sheriffs’ Youth Ranches needs YOUR help! On that day between 8:00 am and 8:00 pm, you can double the impact of your gift to the Ranches at ArkansasGives.org.

For every dollar you donate to the Ranches through ArkansasGives, thanks to a matching gift from the Morris Foundation, your gift will be matched dollar for dollar up to $5,000! ***UPDATE*** And the Ross Foundation will match the first $500! You can make your gift go twice as far by making a gift during ArkansasGives. Your gift will also help the Ranches earn bonus dollars from a $400,000 bonus pool provided by the Arkansas Community Foundation.

Last year ArkansasGives raised $2 million online in one day for more than 350 nonprofits statewide. This year’s goal is $4 million!

You can help right now by marking your calendar for April 7, 2016. You can even text ARGIVES to 24587 to receive a reminder text to give on April 7th. And on that day between 8:00 am and 8:00 pm, you will be able to give online from your smartphone, tablet or personal computer by going to ArkansasGives.org, choose Arkansas Sheriffs’ Youth Ranches, and make a credit card donation.

Arkansas Gives Kid with Cows and ASYR logo copyThe more we raise through ArkansasGives.org on April 7th, the more bonus dollars we will receive! Your gift will also help the Ranches compete for additional cash prizes. And don’t forget that the first $5,000 given will be matched dollar for dollar by the Morris Foundation!

The Arkansas Sheriffs’ Youth Ranches are more than 90% funded through donations. We work to provide loving homes for Arkansas boys and girls, and we pay for all costs associated with raising them. ArkansasGives is a great opportunity for you to make an even bigger impact in the lives of our children!

For more information or assistance on making your gift during ArkansasGives, please contact Matt Cleveland at 501-940-3440 or email matt@youthranches.com.