2009 "State of the Ranch" Update |
 | By John Solberg
Rawhide Executive Director
“Helping new generations” is a term that has defined Rawhide since 1965 and is the theme of my “State of the Ranch” update. We all recognize that when you change a life by placing it on a new and positive course you are changing the future and helping to impact boys who will become men, husbands, and fathers who influence their families. We see this regularly, as alumni visit or call to update us on their lives and tell us how lessons learned at Rawhide provided them with the skills to care for a family. As you read this letter you will see how Rawhide continues to expand on this vision and how your support is affecting future generations.
Over the past 44 years we have achieved positive outcomes for many of Wisconsin’s most challenged youth, by providing the highest quality residential services. As a result, we have impacted the foundation of communities. These successful outcomes caused us to expand our vision in 2008 and initiate prevention services in the community that respond to troubled youth before they are charged with a crime. Rawhide's Youth and Family Counseling clinic in Green Bay served over 130 clients in its first 6 months and is clearly responding to a great need. For the first time in our history, Rawhide now serves boys and girls. The community response to our counseling services is leading us to open a second outpatient clinic near Appleton within two months.
In addition, Rawhide is expanding our quality educational services to young men who are expelled from their local school districts. Youth who are at risk of losing a high school education are able to attend Starr Academy, Rawhide’s on-grounds school, and return home in the evening. Students admitted into this program are igniting their hunger for learning and changing behaviors that previously led them to fail.
Rawhide is seeking to repair the foundation of our communities that are damaged when the needs of our young people and their negative behaviors go unaddressed. Your support makes this vision a reality and, in turn, we are helping new generations become productive by strengthening that vitally important foundation that allows our communities to prosper. God bless you for standing with us and providing hope to youth in desperate circumstances. |
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