June 1, 2017
Happy Grads & Dads to you ALL! It’s June and time for school to get out and attend celebrations. My High School graduation was 1969 from North Branch High School. I was happy to have that part behind me and looking forward to leaving home and going off to college in the fall. Now all of the sudden I’m 66 years old looking forward to retirement, social security, Medicare, annuity values and slowing down. Where has time gone?
June of 2017 and we are about to celebrate High School Graduation with 3 of our youth and Program Completion for several others. They have found HOPE and are looking forward to a brighter future as a result of their time with us either in our Short Term Residential Treatment Programs (formerly known as Group Homes) or with one of our Resource Families (formerly known as Foster Families). For our kids, they didn’t even think they were smart enough to finish high school when they came to us. They will have their caps and gowns, walk in with other students, hear their name called and we will all cheer for them as I blast my trumpet!
Our 30th Anniversary on May 12th was sensational. If you were not there, you missed a wonderful night of fun, food entertainment and just being in a beautiful and peaceful spot at Wolf Lakes. We unveiled our new name, logo and mission. We are now doing business as RAY OF HOPE, A Valley Teen Ranch Organization. How do you like our new logo and name? I read a devotional by Rick Warren this week. He said, “You can go 40 days without food and 3 days without water, you can go 8 minutes without air, but you can’t go a single second without HOPE. It’s an essential part of life. When HOPE is gone, life is over”. That’s what we do as HOPE DEALERS at RAY OF HOPE! We are living with HOPE everyday with our kids. We may be the only light and HOPE that they ever see and know. It seems like there is a shortage of HOPE in our society. God’s word is where I go for my shots of HOPE every day!
As we look to the summer our kids will go to summer school for 5 weeks then we have our Summer Olympics with KYJO Group Home at the Ranch, followed by Summer Camp at Calvin Crest. Then in the middle of August, we start school again. We are going to have a new Principle and one new teacher in the fall, too. We are doing interviews this week.
Your gifts this month will go towards our summer activities with the kids, which includes $155.00 for campers & staff at summer camp, trips to the beach, to the Monterey Bay Aquarium and other short trips.
I appreciate your support, encouragement and prayers.
13 May God, the source of hope, fill you with joy and peace through your faith in him. Then you will overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. Romans 15:13
Keep HOPE Alive
