SKY RANCH FOUNDATION ℠AWARDS GRANTS TO CHRIST CHILD HOUSE AND CRUSHERS CLUB

On behalf of the Beverage Alcohol Industry, Sky Ranch Foundation has now awarded more than $2.6 million in grants to help enrich the lives of our nations’ at-risk youth.

One organization which received a grant recently is Chicago, ,IL-based Crusher’s Club/Restoring the Path. Founded by Sally Hazelgrove in 2011, it is designed to be the strongest alternative to gangs by providing high-risk youth with the support and tools needed to restore their lives and rebuild their communities.

Another organization, Detroit, MI-based Christ Child House, has been providing care for abused and neglected children for 70 years. In 1957 the Henry Ford family made a generous donation of land and a new House was built. It is now a 31-bed comprehensive treatment facility.

Foundation President Ralph Aguera notes, “We are overwhelmed with the number of organizations requesting support this year, some which received encouragement from within our Industry.”  The Foundation Board will meet at the end of May to review this year’s applications and select the organizations which will receive funding.

If you know of an organization which fits the Foundation profile (troubled youth 11-18, focusing on prevention and rehabilitative services, including counseling, education, job training and more), please encourage them to send in their LOI for 2019 by next February 28.

We thank all of those who have been supporting the Foundation and look forward to your continued support. All donations are welcome.  For over fifty years the Sky Ranch Foundation’s SKY RANCH FOR BOYS® has been assisting young people rehabilitate their lives for the better. If you would like to join us in assisting in the rehabilitation of young people, please click on the contact page of our website skyranchfoundation.org for details.

The full list of beverage alcohol industry companies who support Sky Ranch Foundation can be accessed via a link on our Support page (SKYRANCHFOUNDATION.org/support), which also offers a link for donations. If you made a donation and do not see your company listed here, please contact doribryant@gmail.com.

George McCarthy, Chairman

Ralph Aguera, President

February 2018

Sky Ranch Foundation has now awarded more than $2.6 million in grants to help enrich the lives of our nations’ at-risk youth.  And two organizations which do just that are Social Advocates for Youth (SAYsc.org) and Project Avary (projectavary.org)

For 47 years, SAY has been a haven for at-risk youth, offering short-term food, shelter, counseling, referrals and more for these youth and their families. After the fires that ravaged northern California, SAY youth helped restore the Sonoma County regional parks. “This San Jose, CA-based organization offers the type of comprehensive rehabilitation services Sky Ranch Foundation supports”, says Foundation President Ralph Aguera.

San Rafael, CA-based Project Avary is a year-round program which is tailored to meet the unique needs of children of inmates. Focusing on children ages 8 to 11, Project Avary makes a long-term (10 years) commitment to each child and family.

If you know of an organization which fits the Foundation profile (troubled youth 11-18, focusing on prevention and rehabilitative services, including couseling, education, job training and more), please encourage them to send in their LOI by Thursday February 28, to be considered for a grant in 2018.

We thank all of those who have been supporting the Foundation and look forward to your continued support. All donations are welcome.  For over fifty years the Sky Ranch Foundation’s SKY RANCH FOR BOYS® has been assisting young people rehabilitate their lives for the better. If you would like to join us in assisting in the rehabilitation of young people, please click on the contact page of our website skyranchfoundation.org for details.

The full list of beverage alcohol industry companies who support Sky Ranch Foundation can be accessed via a link on our Support page (SKYRANCHFOUNDATION.org/support), which also offers a link for donations. If you made a donation and do not see your company listed here, please contact doribryant@aol.com.

January 2018

Grants were awarded to Oakland, CA-based East Bay Children’s Law Offices, Inc. (EBCLO.org) and Chicago-based Urban Initiatives.  EBCLO is a nonprofit child advocacy organization which provides legal representation to children and youth who are the subject of abuse and neglect proceedings, delinquency proceedings and probate guardianship proceedings in Alameda County Courts. Should a child return to live with his parent or be freed for adoption or whether a young high school graduate is adequately prepared for adulthood, this organization supports the child through the process.

Mike Donohoe, Foundation Vice President (ret. Jim Beam), Kristin Mateer, Managing Attorney with Barrie Becker, Executive Director, EBCLO

Established in 2003, the highly successful Urban Initiatives (urbaninitiatives.org) now works  in 57 of Chicago’s Public Schools and that number grows annually. Specialized programs focus on segments of grades K-12, primarily through sports.

“Both organizations are dedicated to helping rehabilitate our nation’s at-risk youth and both have shown outstanding results”, says Foundation President Ralph Aguera. “We are grateful that the Foundation can assist by awarding grants to further their efforts”.

Perhaps you are acquainted with one or more of the above programs; if not, perhaps you might visit one of these grantee organizations or just drop a note to say ‘Keep up the good work’. We know they would be pleased to hear from a supporter. If you work with, or know of a program that might qualify for a grant from the Foundation, please notify them to send in an LOI (Letter of Intents) no later than February 28.

For over fifty years the Sky Ranch Foundation’s SKY RANCH FOR BOYS® has been assisting young people rehabilitate their lives for the better. If you would like to join us in assisting these youth, please click on the contact page of our website skyranchfoundation.org for details.

We thank all of those who have been supporting the Foundation and look forward to your continued support. All donations are welcome.  The full list of beverage alcohol industry supporters of Sky Ranch Foundation can be accessed via a link on our Support page (SKYRANCHFOUNDATION.org/support), which also offers a link for donations. If you made a donation and do not see your company listed here, please contact doribryant@gmail.com.

George McCarthy, Chairman

Ralph Aguera, President

December 2017 –

Since 2011, Sky Ranch Foundation has awarded more than $2.3 million in grants to help enrich the lives of our nations’ youth, in particular, those who are most at-risk.

Cooper City, FL-based KAPOW (KIDS AND THE POWER OF WORK) is a program of the National Child Labor Committee (NCLC), a national network of business and elementary school partnerships which introduces students to career awareness through professionally designed lessons taught by business volunteers in the classroom and visits to work sites. KAPOW (kapowlfs.wordpress.com/about/) partners business and community volunteers with teachers and schools to help students discover new and different jobs, what it takes to do them, and how everything they are learning in school helps them prepare for their futures in the workplace and life.

Dori Bryant, Sky  Ranch Foundation, John Casbarro, President, Learning for Success, Inc, Gastrid Harrigan, Principal, Cypress Run Education Center and Cal Crow, co-founder and the lead trainer, consultant and curriculum developer for the Center for Learning Connection

Since 1994 Mountain View, CA-based Acknowledge Alliance (acknowledgealliance.org), formerly The Cleo Eulau Center, has been working to promote resiliency and connectedness in students, educators and school communities. Through their Resilience Consultation Program, educators may maximize their ability to have a positive influence on the lives of children, building resiliency and social and emotional wellness in the school environment. Through their Collaborative Counseling Program, on-site psychotherapy services are provided to youth on probation, incarcerated or at-risk of offending, including transformative individual and group therapy.

‘

Susan Williams-Clark, Executive Director and Brooke Kernick, Board Chair, Acknowledge Alliance

We thank Mark Brown, Gregg Glaser of Modern Distillery Age, John Bodnovich of ABL, Sean Ludford of BevX and all of those who have been supporting the Foundation and look forward to your continued support. All donations are welcome.  For over fifty years the Sky Ranch Foundation’s SKY RANCH FOR BOYS® has been assisting young people rehabilitate their lives for the better. If you would like to join us in assisting in the rehabilitation of young people, please click on the contact page of our website skyranchfoundation.org for details.

The full list of beverage alcohol industry companies who support Sky Ranch Foundation can be accessed via a link on our Support page (SKYRANCHFOUNDATION.org/support), which also offers a link for donations. If you made a donation and do not see your company listed here, please contact doribryant@aol.com.

Happy Holidays and Happy New Year!

November 2017

The Foundation gives thanks this Holiday season to the Beverage Alcohol Industry for your continued support, enabling us to continue our 56 year tradition of helping organizations whose purpose is to offer hope to at-risk youth.

One such organization is Ocala, FL.-based Voices for Children of North Central Florida, Inc. For 25 years, the all-volunteer ‘Voices’ was created to support the Guardian Ad Litem Program volunteers, who are appointed by the courts to advocate for the child of alleged abuse, neglect or abandonment. Susan Carpenter, ‘Voices’ Board member states, “As a result of the Sky Ranch Foundation funds, these children are able to participate in “Normalcy activities” such as participating in sports camps, visiting theme parks, taking swimming lessons, all activities which children routinely do. ‘Voices’ was also recently able to provide funds for a scholarship for a 13 year old boy for horsemanship and riding classes.”

Ralph Aguera, Foundation President says, “We thank Voices for Children for their constant support of  the Guardian Ad Litem Program and their dedication to helping to make a difference for these neglected children.”

Peggy Donovan, Vice President and Board member Sky Ranch Foundation, Guardian Ad Litem and Board Member Voices for Children and Susan Carpenter, Board member, Voices for Children.

As a Vice President of Sky Ranch Foundation and a board member of Voices for Children, Peg Donovan sees, first-hand, the results of the generosity of the beverage alcohol industry. “I am extremely proud to be a part of both of these organizations as well as a Guardian ad Litem; I have the opportunity of seeing the results – everything from prom dresses, dance lessons, soccer, to theme parks to name a few and our gratitude knows no bounds.”

Back, left to right: Eric Palhof, board member, Voices for Children; John Conroy, board member, Voices for Children; Kathleen Cossey, Vice President, Voices for Children; Don Rausch, board member, Voices for Children; Alan Abramowitz, Executive Director, State of Florida GAL Program  Front, left to right:;Pam Monk, board member, Voices for Children; Jo Mrotek, board member, Voices for Children; Marcia Hilty, Director, 5^th Circuit GAL Program; Sue Carpenter, Co-President, Voices for Children; Peg Donovan, Secretary, Voices for Children; Wanda Vogler, Co-President, Voices for Children; Jeff Cohen, board member, Voices for Children

We thank the Independent Spirits Expo for their recent donation and all of those who have been supporting the Foundation and look forward to your continued support. All donations are welcome.  For over fifty years the Sky Ranch Foundation’s SKY RANCH FOR BOYS® has been assisting young people rehabilitate their lives for the better. If you would like to join us in assisting in the rehabilitation of young people, please click on the contact page of our website skyranchfoundation.org for details.

The full list of beverage alcohol industry companies who support Sky Ranch Foundation can be accessed via a link on our Support page (SKYRANCHFOUNDATION.org/support), which also offers a link for donations. If you made a donation and do not see your company listed here, please contact doribryant@aol.com.

George McCarthy, Chairman

Ralph Aguera, President

About Sky Ranch Foundation ℠ and Sky Ranch For Boys ®

Since 2011, the Foundation ℠ has awarded $2.3 million in grants to organizations providing support for at-risk youth. Formed in 1961 and building on more than 56 years of tradition, Sky Ranch Foundation ℠ is a tax-exempt charitable organization committed to identifying and offering grants to efficient and effective programs focused on improving the quality of help available to these youth. If you involved with or know of any organization that would fit our commitment we encourage you to visit our web site www.skyranchfoundation.org and apply for a grant.

Sky Ranch Foundation ℠ is governed by a board of directors comprised mainly of active and retired members of the beverage alcohol industry. The Foundation’s ℠ funds have come largely from individuals and companies associated with the beer, wine and spirits industries and reflects the industry’s great concern and commitment for at-risk youth. www.skyranchfoundation.org ℠

October 2017 –

Two new programs received grants this year including the Atlanta, GA-based The Orange Duffel Bag Initiative (theodbi.org) and Kamuela, HI-based West Hawai’i Mediation Center (whmediation.org).

The ODBI received funding for its trauma-informed, education-focused 12-week coaching program to students who are homeless or in foster care. Ralph Aguera, President of Sky Ranch Foundation says, “In a time when more and more at-risk children find themselves growing up without the support that leads them to become productive and healthy members of our community, it’s comforting to know that The Orange Duffel Bag Initiative has been proactively involved in changing the courses of these children’s lives.” “Sky Ranch Foundation’s support is an inspiring example of organizations with shared missions partnering for excellence and equity in education and investing in the success of our state’s students in need,” says Michael Daly, ODBI president.

L to R: Dwayne Kasper, ODBI Board Member, Diana Black, ODBI VP, Ralph Aguera, Sky Ranch President, Sam Bracken, ODBI Co-Founder, Michael Daly, ODBI President, Reggie Pope ODBI Board Chair

The Foundation supports the West Hawai’i Mediation Center’s (WHMC) Conflict Resolution Education and Peer Mediation program which commenced in late 2012 with one pilot school – and now engages six middle schools and seven elementary schools, collectively serving more than 5,000 students in West Hawaii schools. “WHMC focuses on two strategic and elemental missions, prevention and conflict resolution, both crucial steps toward successfully integrating these troubled youth,” says George McCarthy, Foundation Chairman.

Amanda Q. Blount, MSW, Interim Executive Director, with entire staff of West Hawai’i Mediation Center

We thank all of those who have been supporting the Foundation and look forward to your continued support. All donations are welcome.  For over fifty years the Sky Ranch Foundation’s SKY RANCH FOR BOYS® has been assisting young people rehabilitate their lives for the better. If you would like to join us in assisting in the rehabilitation of young people, please click on the contact page of our website skyranchfoundation.org for details.

This month we welcome and thank our newest supporter, BevX.com. The full list of supporting beverage alcohol industry and associated companies can be accessed via SKYRANCHFOUNDATION.org/support, which also offers a link for donations. If you made a donation and do not see your company listed here, please contact doribryant@aol.com.

George McCarthy, Chairman

Ralph Aguera, President

September 2017 –

The statistics are staggering—and they’re growing: 1 of every 4 girls and 1 of every 6 boys is sexually abused and more than 2/3 of those incidents occur to children aged 17 and under. Given those facts and the fact that their own grandchild was so abused, Carol and John D’Attoma of Overland Park, KS decided to do something about it and in 2009 started the Sexually Abused Children’s Relief Endeavor (sacred) organization (kidsaresacred.org), a Foundation grantee organization.

sacred has been providing transitional financial support to families whose children have been sexually abused. “Our work together, repairing damaged and struggling children, has provided a life line to those children.” States Carol D’Attoma, President and Executive Director of sacred. “We are so grateful to Sky Ranch for their award and the recognition that helping families with sexually abused children contributes to the overall welfare of children and is consistent with their mission of serving at-risk children” states John D’Attoma, Chairman of sacred and Senior Vice President of Southern Glazer’s of Iowa.

John and Carol D’Attoma

Ralph Aguera, President of Sky Ranch Foundation℠, notes, “We are grateful that we could assist sacred and we applaud their efforts. It is encouraging to note that one of our own in the Beverage Alcohol Industry has taken a pro-active approach, albeit under such circumstances.”  Ralph furthers, “We are also honored to have received a generous donation from the Martignetti Companies, New England’s leading distributor of fine wines and spirits, to help us continue in our efforts to help organizations such as sacred.”

 Special thanks to Modern Distillery Age (distilleryage.com), Mark Brown’s Newsletter and American Beverage Licensees (ablusa.org) for their constant support. For over fifty years the Sky Ranch Foundation℠’s SKY RANCH FOR BOYS® has been assisting young people rehabilitate their lives for the better. If you would like to join us in assisting in the rehabilitation of young people, please click on the contact page (SKYRANCHFOUNDATION.org/support) of our website for details. If you made a donation and do not see your company listed here, please contact doribryant@aol.com.

Building on 56 years of tradition, the Sky Ranch Foundation ℠ continues to support our nation’s at-risk youth on behalf of the Beverage Alcohol Industry. This was an unprecedented year as the Foundation awarded just under $300,000 in grants-twice as many as in any previous year-to 16 at-risk youth programs across the nation. From Hawaii in the West to Florida in the East, this year’s record grants enable these organizations to obtain the resources needed to touch the lives of untold numbers of our nation’s at-risk youth.

2017 grantee programs awarded (alphabetical by state)

California

Acknowledge Alliance/Mountain View, CA acknowlegdealliance.org

East Bay Children’s Law Offices (EBLCO)/Oakland, CA ebclo.org

Individuals Now dba Social Advocates for Youth/Santa Rosa, CA saysc.org

Project Avary/San Rafael, CA projectavary.org

Florida

Learning For Success, Inc./Cooper City, FL kapowlfs.wordpress.com/about/

Voices for Children of North Central Florida/Ocala, FL voices4childrenfl.org

Georgia

Orange Duffel Bag Initiative/Atlanta, GA theodbi.org

Hawaii

Big Island Mediation dba West Hawaii Mediation Center/Kamuela, HI whmediation.org

Illinois

Restoring the Path (dba Crushers Club)/Chicago, IL crushersclub.org

Urban Initiatives/Chicago, IL urbaninitiatives.org

Iowa

Sky Ranch Behavioral Services/Sioux City, IA skyranchbehavioralservices.org

Kansas

Sacred/Leawood, KS kidsaresacred.org

Kentucky

Boys & Girls Haven/Louisville, KY boyshaven.org

Michigan

Christ Child House/Detroit, MI christchildhouse.org

New York

Exalt Youth/Brooklyn, NY exaltyouth.org

South Dakota

Boys and Girls Club of Rosebud/Mission, SD rosebudbgc.org

For over fifty years Sky Ranch Foundation’s SKY RANCH FOR BOYS® has been assisting in helping young people rehabilitate their lives for the better. If you would like to join us in assisting the rehabilitation of young people, please click on the contact page of our website skyranchfoundation.org for details. All donations are welcome.

The full list of beverage alcohol industry companies who support the Foundation can be accessed via a link on our Support page, SKYRANCHFOUNDATION.org/support, which also offers a link for donations. If you made a donation and do not see your company listed here, please contact doribryant@aol.com.

We thank all of those who have been supporting the Foundation and look forward to your continued support.

George McCarthy, Chairman

Ralph Aguera, President

The Sky Ranch Foundation board will be meeting mid-July to review the outstanding number of Letters of Interest (LOIs) we received this year from organizations which help rehabilitate at-risk youth. This is no easy task; there are so many organizations deserving of support.

One such organization is Chicago-based Urban Initiatives (urbaninitiaves.org). Communications Manager Cristobol Martinez writes, “For the past two years, Sky Ranch Foundation℠ has played a crucial role in Urban Initiatives’ growth as the seed funder of our Take the Lead program. Take the Lead is a leadership development, high school readiness, and violence prevention program for 5^th through 8^th grade students in the Chicago Public Schools (CPS). Through the support of the Foundation, the Take the Lead program has nearly doubled in size – serving 125 students in 24 schools in the 2014-2015 school year, to serving over 225 in 35 schools today”.

For over 65 years, Louisville-based Boys and Girls Haven (boyshaven.org) has been providing a home and a future for many of Kentucky’s most challenged young people–over 900 in 2016–and used Foundation funds for their Independence Readiness program, which provides career exploration, life skills training and mentoring.

New York’s Red Hook Initiative (rhicenter.org) received our support for their comprehensive 4-year High School Youth Leaders program which provides job readiness training, academic tutoring and a host of other functions for 100 students.

We thank all of those who have been supporting the Foundation and look forward to your continued support. All donations are welcome.  For over fifty years the Sky Ranch Foundation’s SKY RANCH FOR BOYS® has been assisting in helping young people rehabilitate their lives for the better. If you would like to join us in assisting the rehabilitation of young people, please click on the contact page of our website skyranchfoundation.org for details.

The full list of beverage alcohol industry companies who support Sky Ranch Foundation can be accessed via a link on our Support page (SKYRANCHFOUNDATION.org/support), which also offers a link for donations. If you made a donation and do not see your company listed here, please contact doribryant@aol.com.

George McCarthy, Chairman

Ralph Aguera, President

GRANTS FROM SKY RANCH FOUNDATION ℠ CHANGE COUNTLESS LIVES

May 2017 –

Since 2011, Sky Ranch Foundation has awarded more than $1.7 million in grants to help enrich the lives of our nations’ youth, in particular, those who are most at-risk.

Our grants have enabled the Mission S.D.-based Boys and Girls Club of Rosebud (ROSEBUDBGC.org) to build a new teen center and expansion is underway for a new teen recreation center.  Programs include field trips, a bike club, a baseball league (Thunder Baseball) and a U17 boy’s lacrosse team, the Sicangu Thunderhawks.

At Oakland, CA-based East Bay Children’s Law Offices (EBCLO.org), moneys received were applied to several projects which, among many additional achievements, helped 184 foster youth get the services and support they need to succeed in school, provided more than 89 one-on-one consultations and training about education advocacy to caretakers of foster youth and provided legal support to 380 transition aged youth clients.

The Woodside, CA-based POPS Kids (POPSKIDS.org) applied our grant to their ‘Life Without Limits’ program, which serves motor-challenged youth in Northern California through specialized Summer Camps. 750 young people participate in these programs throughout the year.

May is National Foster Care Month. More than 400,000 children are in foster care, many served through the grantee organizations we have identified. This month, give pause and acknowledge those who help make a difference.

We thank all of those who have been supporting the Foundation and look forward to your continued support. All donations are welcome.

The full list of beverage alcohol industry companies who support Sky Ranch Foundation can be accessed via a link on our Support page (SKYRANCHFOUNDATION.org/support), which also offers a link for donations. If you made a donation and do not see your company listed here, please contact doribryant@aol.com.

George McCarthy, Chairman

Ralph Aguera, President