At Living Hope Ranch, we believe that every young woman who comes through our doors has a most basic need to know that they are safe, valuable and loved.“
LHR Reflections on Opening
There are a few times we have been at this place, setting a date to open and gearing up to make that happen. It’s one of the most difficult tasks for any ‘start-up’ non-profit that will seek to fund its operations from donations, deciding when it ’looks feasible’ that we could open our doors. We’ve crafted the program and operations of Living Hope Ranch by the book. We’ve done our market research and business plan with analysis. We consulted with and been assisted by similar non-profit organizations. We know that the niche we’ve targeted is not over-populated with any similar program for teen girls. We developed a talented and committed board of directors. We’ve incorporated in Saskatchewan and registered with Charities Canada. Our program is unique, carefully crafted and supported with program documentation and an exhaustive Policy and Procedures manual. I’m just pointing out that we have worked hard for the past six years to give this the best possible chance of being highly successful.
Of course, there are many things that happen along the way that not many people see. Did you know that we have intentionally planned for LHR to be franchised? We will limit each additional LHR program to housing a max of 8 girls. Did you know that we have intentionally sought to develop a broad and strong foundation of support, meaning that we have not looked for ONE strong donor, but rather one thousand, who will be both financially and spiritually invested in what we are doing. We will seek Government assistance when our program is functional, and we have engaged government to give us input on how to craft our program so that they might be able to justify their partnership.
Along with all the paperwork and planning, we have been on a huge learning curve of the immense need for a program like this. When we started, we never fully perceived the dark and insidious assault that is directed to teen girls. Let’s just say we were fairly un-informed! This largely unprotected group of society ( girls aged 11-17 ) are relentlessly targeted as fuel for the porn and sex-trade industries. If you choose to understand, just GOOGLE ; “sex-trade targets teen girls,” “porn industry targets teen girls,” “cellphone teen apps danger,”. Now, besides operating the Ranch for girls, we are doing lots of educating about the dangers they face daily!
We wanted to ‘put this out there’ to people who follow LHR for any reason, to identify that we know the questions, we know the concerns, we understand the hard task we have put our energy to. We have not reached out to large foundations and corporate sponsors, or even pushed hard with public fundraisers, because we know that we cannot ask for people to support what we cannot prove! From the day we have started, we have always had the funds we’ve needed to keep moving forward. IN the start-up of any non-profit, the financing typically comes from people who believe in the individuals who are personally invested in the start of the project. We have carefully brought into our program people who we feel will be the best fit for what we are wanting to do. To say the least, finding those ‘diamonds’ for staff has been difficult, given the need to raise funds and the very particular gifts we are desiring in those people. In that end, we are excited about the Programming Directors that are in place and the Youth Care Workers we are coming on stream.
It is our desire to be completely transparent with what we do at Living Hope Ranch. If you have questions, please contact us through our email or phone.
By: Dr. Dave Manley – President, Living Hope Ranch, Inc
Open House
Living Hope Ranch hosted an Open House event on Sunday, September 22nd, 2019. A relaxed fall afternoon was spent giving tours of our facility and giving the opportunity for supporters, friends, and those interested in the work at LHR, to drop by and see the facility and learn more about our program. We are excited to show off the hard work that has gone into preparing our program and building as we anticipate our January 6th reopening.
Thank you to everyone who came out that day in support of LHR!
Next Open House:
Sunday, October 27th, 2019 – 1:00-6:00 pm
Saturday, November 30th, 2019 – 1:00-6:00 pm
Food and drinks available all day.
Want to hear more about LHR?
Invite our Communications Director to come speak. Book your date today!
If you are interested in having our representative come, please contact our Communications Director:
Telephone – 306-315-6919 (regular office hours)
Email: livinghoperanch@gmail.com
UPCOMING PRESENTATIONS:
October 20th – Kings Corner Church of God, Regina, SK
October 27th – LHR Open House (1:00-6:00 pm)
November 2nd & 3rd – Community Baptist Missions Conference, Swift Current, SK
November 16th & 17th – Bow Island, AB
November 30th – Final LHR Open House
December 1st – Swift Current, SK
Needs/Donations:
- Dry goods/non-perishables (food)
- Storage Sheds
- Leather work gloves
- Office chairs
- Desks for school
- Art Supplies
- Cleaning Supplies/Laundry Supplies
- Office chairs
- Windbreak panels
- Coral panels
- Gently used or new furniture
- Radios – long range
- Meat – beef, chicken
- Hay/feed for horses
- Tack for horses & helmets
- Exercise equipment
- Power bars/surge protectors
Available Positions:
Youth Care Workers
Apply today
Internship Opportunities Available
We do have internship options available, but please contact us at livinghoperanch@gmail.com, as to the possibility of us being able to provide an internship suitable to your program requirements.
“Empowering teenage girls to become strong confident women.”
Thank you for your continued support!
We appreciate your prayers and support in this process as we forge ahead to new and greater things in the anticipation of reopening the doors of Living Hope Ranch.
Kristen Zilkie
Communications Director
Living Hope Ranch
PO Box 275
Consul, SK, S0N0P0
306-315-6919
livinghoperanch@gmail.com
www.livinghoperanch.ca