Ranchers Head Back To School
07/29/2022

The 2022-2023 school year will soon begin, and one thing is for sure, we have lots of excited boys and girls. Back to school is always an exciting time. For some of our newer Ranchers, this school year represents a fresh start. This year will be the first time they thrive in their school work.

One Rancher, a boy who has called the ranch home for over 5 years, will get his diploma this year!

This is all thanks to support from friends like you.

Prices continue to rise: You Can Help!

August 22nd we will send our Ranchers back to school. As the costs of living continue to rise, the process of sending so many children back to school becomes increasingly difficult.

Because we have children in grades kindergarten through high school, their supply needs vary greatly. Your online gift is the very best way to make sure every Rancher’s need is covered, even beyond the classroom.

Your gift of $285 can provide everything one Rancher needs for a great school year – new school clothes, a new pair of shoes that fit, a fresh haircut, school supplies, a mask, and a new backpack.

Will you join us today by making a gift? Even a gift of just $30 can give two children a brand new backpack – something they may have never had before and that they will carry with pride! Your gift today not only helps with needs like school supplies and backpacks, but it’s also an investment in the futures of Arkansas boys and girls.

•  $285 can outfit 1 child for the 2022 school year
•  $150 can buy new school clothes
•  $125 can purchase school supplies
•  $50 can pay for 5 fresh haircuts
•  $45 can buy a pair of new shoes
•  $30 can buy 2 new backpacks

You can make a difference in the life of a child this school year. Click here to become a Hope Builder by making your gift a monthly contribution to the Ranches. It’s quick and easy to make a gift: click here or text the word ranch to 26989 to make a gift today!

Some of our biggest needs for the school year are:

  • Backpacks for boys and girls of all ages
  • Mechanical pencils
  • Loose leaf paper
  • 2-inch binders
  • Binder tabs
  • Hand sanitizer

If you order supplies online, it can be shipped to us at: ASYR, 100 Saint Vincent Place, Batesville, AR 72501.

Thank you for supporting our boys and girls this school year!

Summer enrichment program at the Arkansas Sheriffs’ Youth Ranches
05/18/2021

Philip Ives, Chief Operations Officer, recently reflected on 2020. Like all children, the children who call the Arkansas Sheriffs’ Youth Ranches home experienced some tough times throughout the pandemic. As a result, Ives committed to making the summer of 2021 extra special for Ranchers. He felt Ranchers deserved a fun-filled, adventure-packed summer full of learning opportunities. With the support of Ranch staff, he set out to create a fresh Summer Enrichment Program.

“We’ve already begun teaching life skills to Ranchers. Designing a true Summer Enrichment Program is one more way to ensure the kids stay busy, active, and engaged this summer,” Philip shared.

About the ASYR Summer Enrichment Program

summer enrichment program Arkansas Sheriffs' Youth Ranches art

During the summer, Ranchers will participate in various summer enrichment activities each week. However, Ranch staff can’t pull off the program by themselves. They need the support of the community. Ranch staff are currently seeking involvement from local artisans, makers, subject matter experts, and business owners willing to share skills, knowledge, and talents with Ranchers. Many community leaders and experts are already on board, including:

  • Crumbs Up Bakery
  • Batesville Junior High coach Rian Puckett
  • Lyon Women’s Wrestling coach Kevin Corbett
  • Old Independence Regional Museum
  • barber Troy Dixon
  • social worker Miriah Bruce
  • yoga instructor Alexis Schwinghammer
  • artisans Janet and Dustin Morgan

Some experts will conduct on-site hands-on workshops and demonstrations. Others will host Ranchers at their business or organization site for field trips or workshops.

In addition to the summer enrichment sessions led by community experts, Ranch staff will take the Ranchers on excursions and adventures throughout the summer, including the Batesville Aquatics Center, fish hatcheries, and Arkansas State Parks. The summer isn’t just about fun. Staff will also lead academic enrichment sessions (funded by the Batesville School District) and life skills training sessions. Math, reading, and science sessions will be provided for all Ranchers. Another aspect of the summer enrichment program includes age-appropriate life skills sessions. Topics offered include CPR certification, financial literacy, soft skills, career development sessions, and more.

Other summer experiences for Ranchers

That’s not all. Ranch therapist Maylynn Staggs will lead a summer camp for the Ranchers as well. The camp will feature life skills sessions, swimming excursions, art days, and more. Ives and supporting staff, along with houseparents, will host on-campus group activities. For example, Ives is planning Friday Night Fun, including pizza parties and movie nights.

“We’re still looking for community experts and leaders to get involved. We need experts from all industries to host on-site demonstrations, presentations, training sessions, and hands-on workshops. The more we can involve kids and let them try things out, the more real experience they gain. This helps them build self-confidence,” Ives stated.

Do you have expertise or talent you’re willing to share with the Arkansas Sheriffs’ Youth Ranches this summer?

Please get involved! Contact Philip Ives, Chief Operations Officer, at 870-793-6841 to volunteer to host a session or workshop. Ranchers range in ages from 6-18. Your session may include all Ranchers or specific Ranchers (depending on your expertise and skill level of participants).

If you don’t live nearby but want to support the Summer Enrichment Program, you can make a financial contribution to support the program. Donations help fund pizza parties, travel expenses, and more. In addition, the Ranch needs supplies and snacks for the program, including:

  • pre-packaged nutritious snacks and treats
  • canned or bottled drinks
  • outdoor game and sports equipment
  • water sports and recreational gear
  • group yard games.

To make an in-kind donation of goods or materials, call the Ranch at 870-793-6841.

Follow the Ranch on Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, and Instagram for regular updates, news, & opportunities to get involved.

 

 

Becoming whole: Jason’s story
02/18/2020

An interview with Jason

“What is the best thing about the Arkansas Sheriffs’ Youth Ranches?”

One of our children at the Ranch (whom we lovingly refer to as Ranchers) sits calmly across from me. He doesn’t miss a beat.boy young man Arkansas Sheriffs' Youth Ranches

“My parents,” he smiles.

“Do you mean your houseparents?” I clarify, not knowing that his biological parents are deceased.

“Um yeah,” he stares back at me, as if I should have known that for Ranchers, houseparents are never simply staff members. “Of course. The best thing here is having a home and a family.”

For foster children who call the Ranch home, houseparents become much more than care providers. Because many Ranchers reside at the Ranch for years, their houseparents hold a special place in their hearts and lives. They feel like family.

*Jason’s experience is exactly what the Arkansas Sheriffs’ Youth Ranches offer to all Ranchers: a loving, supportive, safe, and healthy place to call home.

A troubled past

When Jason arrived at the Ranch a few years ago after bouncing from home to home in foster care, he was not the same young man he is today. He wept through his entire intake interview during the admissions process at the Ranch, overcome with fear. This now 4.0 high achiever, involved in FBLA, theatre, and choir at school, had been severely abused or neglected by his biological family.child abuse domestic violence

Prior to Ranch placement, Jason’s life was in constant flux.

“When I was seven, my parents split up. I stayed with my dad because my mom wanted to be with her boyfriend. Everything was fine,” Jason reminisces.

However, one morning Jason woke up to a house full of people crying and mourning. His father was killed in a vehicular accident.

“I was hurt and sad. I didn’t know what was really going on at that age. But I knew my dad was gone, and I knew life wasn’t going to be the same,” he recants.

He was right. After moving in with his biological mother and boyfriend, Jason began witnessing the boyfriend beating his mother, often belittling her—and her children, including Jason. In addition, Jason’s mother and boyfriend began manufacturing methamphetamine.

“Once drugs took over, we didn’t have food. Roaches crawled everywhere. We couldn’t wash clothes and didn’t have a car,” Jason remembers.

The beauty of Ranch life

After several years of living in these conditions, the Department of Human Services gained custody of Jason and his siblings. Jason’s mother died from unknown causes a few years later.

Jason’s story represents the gut-wrenching reality—and beauty—of Ranch life. Many Ranchers arrive full of fear, anger, and unprocessed trauma. Like Jason, they’ve witnessed addiction. They’ve lived in the throes of domestic violence, inhabitable housing conditions, and even homelessness. They have acquired survival skills but have never learned to set boundaries, expect reasonable treatment from others, or process emotions fully or healthfully. Many have never slept soundly in secure, clean homes.

But the beauty of becoming a Rancher is the becoming: healing from the past and transforming into a healthy, happy individual. Ranchers receive therapy and emotional support from staff. They live in the same family-style foster care home as their siblings. Tutors provide academic assistance each afternoon, and during the summers, Ranchers participate in engaging, educational programs when they’re not enjoying the nearly 600-acre Ranch. Ranchers learn to embrace the moment, no longer afraid of constant chaos or continually haunted by the traumatic past. Ranchers discover true personal fulfillment as they find serenity and hope.Arkansas Sheriffs' Youth Ranches

Jason isn’t finished growing or transforming. He plans to attend college after high school graduation.

“I want to be a teacher. 10 years from now, I think I’ll be a teacher at a school like Batesville and have a house,” Jason asserts confidently.

I have no doubt he will accomplish all these things while becoming the best version of himself.

 

Help Ranchers, including Jason, to become healthy, happy, and whole by supporting the Arkansas Sheriffs’ Youth Ranches as a Hope Builder.

*Jason’s name and details of his personal story have been changed for privacy purposes.

 

Ranch life fosters growth
01/09/2020

Thriving through Ranch life

Thanks to the hard work and determination of our sheriffs more than 40 years ago, the Ranch is a place of hope and healing for Arkansas children. These children, whom we call Ranchers, have simply needed a place to call home. At the Arkansas Sheriff’s Youth Ranches, children experience Ranch life. Set on an idyllic 568 acres in the foothills of the Ozarks, the Ranch serves about 60 children per year.

children play in field ranchEach morning, the sun radiates across campus, highlighting rolling pastures, sturdy barns, secure cottages, and herds of cattle. Children attend school. When they return, they enjoy life full of laughter, play, sports, homework, and chores. The Ranchers thrive through Ranch life.

“At the Ranch, I am able to spend time with people I love,” one Rancher says.

Cheyenne Ingram, a houseparent at the Ranch for more than 35 years, partners with 22 other staff members.  Together, they manage the Ranch and care for current Ranchers. It’s a huge job and is deeply rewarding.

“Ranch life provides a really stable environment. It’s one of the things kids need most. With stability, love, and support, they thrive,” Ingram asserts. “I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard, ‘my mom never cared if I did my homework.”

Fostering growth through Ranch responsibility

Ranch staff do care. And they work daily with Ranchers to foster growth.

child cattle

Tending Hereford cattle at the Ranch

The Arkansas Sheriffs’ Youth Ranch is a true working ranch. The children help tend to a registered herd of Hereford beef cattle as well as other farm animals, including chickens, ducks, and goats. At the Ranch, children perform regular chores, including caring for animals. The Ranch staff encourage children to develop a strong work ethic, sense of responsibility, and spirit of collaboration by expecting them to complete regular chores.

While many children detest chores and attempt to shirk responsibility, this isn’t the case at the Arkansas Sheriffs’ Youth Ranch. One Rancher recently noted that she loves chores because “they keep me occupied.” This attitude toward pitching in and contributing to the cleanliness and maintenance of the Ranch is shared by many Ranchers.

“Chores make me more mature,” one Rancher claims, and another notes that “doing chores has taught me to be more responsible and cleaner.”

Gaining life skills on the Ranch

girl study schoolThe Ranchers gain invaluable life skills through participating in daily Ranch life. Ranchers fulfill regular chore duties, participate in tutoring, complete homework assignments and study for tests, and attend church on Sunday with houseparents. In this way, Ranchers become well-rounded individuals, growing spiritually as well as mentally, physically, and emotionally. A Rancher mentioned recently that “going to church teaches me to be closer to God,” and another Rancher enjoys “getting to be at church and listen to the pastor.”

Supporting the Ranch

Housing, counseling, guiding, and caring for 60 Ranchers each year while operating a ranch is an enormous undertaking. Thankfully, generous people and organizations support the Ranch through financial giving, corporate sponsorship, gifts of goods and services, and planned giving. Because of supporters, we are able to improve children’s lives and help them become responsible adults.

How can you support the Ranch today?

There are countless ways to support the Ranch. You can make a one-time or monthly financial gift of $10, $50, or more. Every bit of support we receive impacts Ranchers’ lives. Consider making a tribute gift or a non-cash gift, or you can leave a legacy. Reach out to us at www.YouthRanches.com to make a difference in children’s lives.

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