The Florida Sheriffs Youth Ranches has been improving the lives of at-risk children
Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/1546265
While teamwork is easy to recognize in sports, you will see throughout this edition how it is learned and practiced in many areas of life at the Youth Ranches. Our cover is a great example. Many activities at summer camp require teamwork to be successful, whether it is obvious in an activity like Radioactive (page 6) or a little less obvious like in canoeing. Of course, anyone who has ever tried to paddle a canoe with someone else knows just how much teamwork that can require! Work on the Ed Van Ness Farm at the Boys Ranch would be considerably more difficult if our youth didn't utilize teamwork. One person cannot easily treat a calf when it needs immunizations. It takes a group of people with defined roles, cooperation, and effective communication to handle a calf that is not particularly interested in having its shots (page 10). Shalyn's mission experience allowed him to be part of a special team bringing food, shelter, and hope to a community. Each person's actions supported the overall goal. It would have been difficult to make hundreds of sandwiches in a timely manner to feed the children they were serving—or for Shalyn to share his testimony—without the encouragement and support of his team (page 8). What may not be as obvious in the stories we share this month is the teamwork among our Ranchers, staff, and donor family. Our awards banquets highlight the personal growth of our students (page 14). They have done an immense amount of work to earn this recognition, but throughout the year they have also been supported, encouraged, and prayed for by so many. Our Cottage Parents, teachers, and support staff work with each student to develop a growth plan unique to that young person's needs. Our Ranchers commit to doing the work, while their team members support their goals, encourage them when things are difficult, and remind them of the President goals they have set for themselves. No one does this work alone. Writing this article brought to mind a simple truth: life is a team sport. Our teams are made up of encouragers, teachers, mentors, caregivers, coaches, friends, and so many others. Without them, life can be challenging and difficult. With the right people beside us, however, we can accomplish things we might never have imagined doing alone. Thank you to YOU, our donor family, for being part of our team. Your financial support helps us provide a strong and caring team for our boys and girls. The prayers you offer on behalf of our children and staff lift us up and encourage us in the work we do each day. You may not always see your place on the team, but you are there. Every gift, every prayer, and every word of encouragement helps surround our young people with people who believe in them and want to see them succeed. And when each of us does our part, some pretty remarkable things can happen. After all, teamwork really does make the dream work. Sincerely, T H E R A N C H E R FA L L 2 0 2 6 3