Wrangler 2024 Summer

Rediscovering Strength and Resiliency

Beth is the youngest of three children, but her older siblings were in high school when she was born so she was essentially raised as an only child. When she was just a toddler, her father was killed by a drunk driver, and when she was in elementary school, her mother Ann was diagnosed with MS. By the time Beth was in junior high, her mother was mostly wheelchair-bound. In many ways, Beth was raising herself. “My brother and sister were married and had kids of their own, my dad was gone, and my mom was doing her best. We lived in a small town, and if you

weren’t in a sport or club at school, trouble was the only entertainment. I managed to find a lot of that. I was angry and hurting and didn’t have any healthy outlets for the pain,” Beth explained.

Beth’s grades started dropping, and she got into trouble for curfew violations and parties. Ann tried to get help for her daughter, but there were not a lot of resources available in their small town. They tried telehealth, but Beth was reluctant to engage.

Ann started looking for other options and found YBGR. “I was terrified to

send my daughter away. You hear stories about some places, but Beth’s therapist had had a few kids go there, and they all said it was great. So, I reached out, and we were able to get her placed. I was still scared, but her brother was moving to Cody and willing to check on her for me. This helped me feel better about my decision,” recalled Ann.

When Beth arrived, she focused more on her peers and their struggles, on making friends, and on getting home. She worried about her mom being home alone with no one to take care for her when her mom was having bad days. Without them realizing it, Beth and her mom had switched roles.

Beth hit her six-month mark at YBGR and became even more despondent. The average length of stay is four to six months, but that is largely dependent on how the youth engages. Beth had clung to that six-month date as if it were set in stone and when she didn’t go

And do not forget to do good and to share with others, for with such sacrifices God is pleased.

Hebrews

13:16

A Life That Touches Others Goes On Forever...

Since 1957, boys and girls at Yellowstone Boys and Girls Ranch have been sustained by gifts given in memory or honor of others.

Physical reminders of charitable contributions dedicated to others are found throughout the Ranch’s beautiful campus. On a tour of the Ranch today, you would see the Robbie Chapel, the DeHann Administration Building, the J. J. Wadsworth Life Skills Classroom, Leuthold Lodge and many others. Most involved a charitable planned gift such as a Charitable Remainder Trust. Yellowstone Foundation administers several memorial scholarships and Donor Advised Funds, and of course, the perpetual Endowment Fund is a reservoir of individually named gifts honoring hundreds of donors over the years.

Like clockwork, our donors continue to support children at YBGR with both Memorial and Honor Gifts. Memorial Gifts are a thoughtful way to express your sympathy and honor a departed loved one or friend. When your gift is received, our lovely memorial card notifying the family of your tribute is sent that day. Of course, the gift amount is always kept confidential. Likewise, an Honor Gift is a distinctive way to recognize a special person in your life, while sharing with them your desire to help troubled children. You might wish to honor an anniversary or birthday, someone’s graduation or military service, or celebrate a particular achievement or milestone.

We publish the names of people being remembered or honored, and

See page 7 for the current list of Memorial and Honor Gifts.

those giving gifts in their name in our Wrangler newsletter.

with the appropriate wording.

Fern Wolery of Joplin, MT is one such memorial donor. Mrs. Wolery says, “A memorial gift to Yellowstone Boys and Girls Ranch will last much longer than a bouquet of flowers and also may help some young person get his/her life back on a better track. It is my privilege to support such a wonderful program.” THANK YOU, Mrs. Wolery, for more than forty years of supporting the Ranch’s kids with your thoughtful memorial gifts.

Memorial and Honor gifts can be made easily online by visiting our website at YellowstoneFoundation.org. We also have pads of convenient forms you can fill out and send to us with your gift. Of course, you can always give us a call at 406-656-8772 with questions or with the information needed for a Memorial or Honor gift.

Remember Us in Your Will and Leave a Lasting Legacy

FIXED AMOUNT: I give the sum of $ to Yellowstone Boys and Girls Ranch Foundation.

SPECIFIC PROPERTY: I give my to Yellowstone Boys and Girls Ranch Foundation.

PERCENTAGE OF REMAINDER: I give % of the remainder of my estate to Yellowstone Boys and Girls Ranch Foundation.

CONTINGENCY: In the event does not survive me, I give to Yellowstone Boys and Girls Ranch Foundation. These samples are suggestions only. Legal documents should always be prepared by your attorney.

Yellowstone Boys and Girls Ranch Foundation’s legal address is 2050 Overland Avenue, P.O. Box 80807, Billings, Montana 59108. Yellowstone

This lovely card done by Cliff Potts is sent for both Memorial and Honor gifts,

By naming Yellowstone Boys and Girls Ranch Foundation in your will, you can guarantee that your legacy of caring for troubled and abused children will continue for generations to come.

Weathering Dry Spells and Storms

pring at YBGR arrived on the calendar, but, as usual for Montana, winter wasn’t quite sure it was ready to let go. While we had some beautiful sunny and warm days, we also had some cold, wet, and – believe it or not – snowy days. I didn’t have “drive through a snowstorm” on my May bingo card, yet that’s exactly what happened! You have to love Montana!

Regardless of the weather, we keep busy at YBGR, and these last few months have definitely been busy as we continue to live out our mission of Caring People, Preparing Youth for Life.

S WWhile it snowed in May, we had a very mild winter overall, without much snow. This meant we couldn’t do many of our usual winter activities of snowshoeing, sledding, and crosscountry skiing. Kids didn’t sit around, though! We found plenty of ways to stay active and learn new coping and life skills.

Winter Young Life Camp was a great example. As usual, Young Life Camp was a big hit. During Camp, the kids participated in fun and unique activities, like escape rooms, a mini-carnival, and an inflatable obstacle course. They also learned about God and his love for them, as the camp focused on the theme of “Child of God”. I’m grateful for the partnership with the local Young Life crew, led by Shane Lovering, and all the YBGR staff and community members who volunteered their time to make a lasting difference in the lives of youth.

Thanks also to all of you. We wouldn’t be able to offer this type of life-changing experience without your support. Your generosity with your prayers and gifts is greatly appreciated.

New Ranch Hand

elcome Alli Allen, YBGR’s new Ranch Hand! Alli started at YBGR as a Mental Health Worker in one of the lodges, and when the opportunity arose for her to work with both the kids and the cattle, Alli jumped on it. “I loved my work in the lodge with the kids, but I also love working with animals. My parents owned a feedlot when I was growing up, so becoming YBGR’s Ranch Hand gave me the chance to work with both the kids and the cows.”

Alli assists Ranch Manager Gary Adams with the feeding and care of 100 Black Angus cow/calf pairs plus 200 feeder calves in the fall at the feedlot, taking over operations when Gary is on the road delivering heifers or picking up calves. Alli also manages the youth work crews. Kids must earn the privilege of being on a work crew, and cattle work crews are one of the most highly sought after by the kids, especially during calving season. As many a youth growing up on a ranch has heard, shoveling manure is good for the soul!

Chaplain John Boeder leading discussions at Young Life Camp.

Alli, right, instructs a youth in handling a calf while YBGR CEO Mike Chavers looks on.

The Year in Review Yellowstone Boys & Girls Ranch Operational

Income Sources

Psychiatric Residential Treatment Facility

In 2023, monthly referrals to the PRTF were double that of pre-pandemic levels. This surge underscored the urgent need for expanded capacity at YBGR. Thanks to partnerships with LinkedIn and Indeed, the necessary staff were recruited, leading to the opening of Fortin East Lodge on December 15th, accommodating 10 more youth. This expansion brought relief to several families, ensuring access to vital treatment closer to home.

210 youth served

Tom & Joan Scott Clinic

When PRTF youth and families arrive at YBGR, their first stop is the Tom & Joan Scott Clinic on East Campus where they are welcomed by roundthe-clock nursing staff. After initial assessments, including vitals and medication lists, they meet with the treatment team. Then, the youth are introduced to their lodge staff to start their healing journey.

EquiLateral Therapy

9,312

total clinic visits

EquiLateral Therapy, newly available in 2023, combines EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) with Equine Therapy. EMDR is an evidencebased practice for processing trauma and PTSD reduction. Integrating horses into EMDR sessions offers added benefits: horses can sense emotional changes, reflecting them in their behavior, acting as a mirror for patients to gain clarity on their reactions. Additionally, tactile contact with the horse provides comfort and creates a safe space for processing trauma.

Equilateral Therapists Juletta Gilge and Mackenzie Martinson with therapy horse Lark.

Community Based Services

CBS is rapidly expanding, largely due to closures of other youth mental health care providers in the state. From 2021 to 2022, the number of children served increased by 47%, followed by an additional 11% growth from 2022 to 2023. These numbers reflect increased access to vital services for more children and families, making a life-changing impact.

Yellowstone Academy

Housed in multiple on-campus shops, YA’s Vocational Technologies Program (Vo Tech) provides students with hands-on learning experiences including welding, woodworking, metalwork, small engine repair, automotive care, apiculture (bees), and aviculture (pheasants & chickens). In times when many schools are cutting back on Vo-Tech, YA remains committed to offering these courses, allowing students to explore career paths in the trades as a viable alternative to the traditional four-year college route.

112 students served by Day School Program

Spiritual Life Program

The SLP has been integral to YBGR since its beginning in 1957. The voluntary, non-denominational, Christian-based program helps youth, families, and staff understand and experience God, fostering healing and promoting faith-based growth.

A youth waiting by the main entrance of the beautiful Chapel for Young Life Club to begin.

Mr. Sipes teaching students how to use a table saw. Taking therapy dog Emmy Lou for a walk during a counseling session.

Rediscovering Strength and Resiliency

Continued from page 1

home on her 183rd day in treatment, she retreated into herself.

A few weeks later, Beth woke up one morning, and everything suddenly clicked. She started to work on her treatment in earnest. “From day one, the staff and my therapist had been telling me that I needed to focus on myself and heal, that it was ok to do that, but I didn’t believe them. No one thing made me realize it was ok to focus on myself. It was everything and the consistency of what everyone was telling me,” said Beth.

After about two months of consistent work, the treatment team started talking about discharging Beth. They secured wraparound services so she could continue her healing at home. “My therapist at YBGR set

I want to help people, and YBGR taught me how to balance helping others with helping myself.

Beth

up some introductory sessions over telehealth with my new therapist. Having someone I trusted there to help me establish that trust made the telehealth session better. We also had family sessions together, and my mom and I established rules for when I got home so I could be helpful but not her caretaker. We didn’t want to fall into old habits.”

Six months after Beth was discharged, she called her lodge staff to touch base. She had straight A’s, was graduating early to start college in the fall to study nursing, and had gotten a job as a CNA. “I want to help people, and YBGR taught me how to balance helping others with helping myself. I am excited to go to school in the fall which I hadn’t thought possible. YBGR also taught me that my mom and I are ok apart.”

Beth will be starting her third year of nursing school this fall and is doing great. She plans to graduate in May of 2025 and be an ER nurse at the same hospital where she is working part-time as a CNA.

KG Ranch, owned by Paul and Kaye Doddridge and managed by Cody Jackson, purchased their first Angus heifers in 1980 to start their herd along the Jefferson River just outside of Three Forks, Montana. Soon after, they started focusing on the genetics of the herd and producing sires for artificial insemination (AI). Around 1989, the partners of KG Ranch met YBGR Ranch Manager Gary Adams and learned about YBGR’s mission of helping hurting children.

KG Ranch

KG Ranch quickly became a Homes for Heifers donor, not only supplying YBGR with heifers, but also providing genetics for artificially inseminating the heifers and clean-up bulls each year to help the ranch diversify and

Homes for Heifers & Calf Roundup Donors

A special thanks to all the donors listed below whose generosity supports the vo-ag program.

Rounding up the cattle in the shadow of the Rocky Mountains.

improve its herd genetics. “It has been a great partnership. We get to introduce kids to what we do. When we first started with the Ranch, we used to come out and teach the kids to work with the cows and to ride horses. Putting a smile on their face and giving them hope is what it is all about,” says Greg Strohecker. Generous donations over the years from KG Ranch have helped YBGR maintain a quality herd. The youth look forward to getting out with the cows, learning about ranch life, and helping to AI the herd as well as participating in the annual branding. Thank you, Paul, Kaye, Cody, and Greg for your support and generosity over the years.

KG

For more information about contributing a calf, or to inquire about YBGR’s other farm programs, please contact Gary Adams at 406-855-5230.

Memorial Listings

January 1, 2024 – May 15, 2024

A special word of thanks to all donors listed here who support Yellowstone Boys and Girls Ranch Foundation through their memorial and honor gifts.

IRV ALDERSON

& Sara Taliaferro

& Alice Kay Schweigert KAYLA MAE ASHLEY

& Kelly Ashley CAROL “BUNNY”

KELSEY BERRETH

& Cheryl Berreth

CURTIS BEVOLDEN

Eastman

& Vicki Coffee

& Kathy Jo Eskro

& Kathryn Hickle

Lenning

& Holly Adams

& Norma Lazer

Bray

McNeal

Knapp

Andre

Lipe

MIKE BROWN Ronald & Jean Jarrell

KELSEY BRYAN Jonathan, Shaylin & Yukon O’Neil

JEAN BUFFINGTON

Wolery

SUSAN ADAMS CAIRNES

Cairnes

HECTOR & ANTOINETTE

Manna

MATTHEW

Coblentz

PAUL & JEAN

Trish Kolterman DALE DAVY

Wolery

DONNA DELP Ryan & Crystal Johnson and Family

TIM DWYER Timothy S. Dwyer

WILMA JEAN ENGEBRETSON Teresa Connors

John Reamy, Paul Reamy, Sheila Dean Herb, Pat, Mark, Lucy, Matt and Sarah Edison

Kevin Connors & Family

Greg, Tesa, Paula Busby

Jim & Margaret Hutchinson & Family

Kathryn Pangburn

Kenneth & Donna McMillan

Susan Hines

Robin Hines

Elizabeth Hines

Anna Knapp

Karen McNeal

Anna Bray

Bob & Nancy Ravr

BRETT ELLISON

Joan Van Dyke

JOEL FENGER Fern Wolery

PHILLIP FLOM

Donna Farnham

LOIS FOSTER

Fern Wolery

JAMES GALLAGHER

Mr. & Mrs. Donald Hegg

KENNETH HAAB

The Chavers Family

John Eastman

Geroge, Estelle, Jeff Hritsco and Family

WAYNE HANSEN

Mary & Sara Taliaferro

TIM HARDMAN

Randy, Marsha and Nathan Wiley

MAXINE HOGE

Sheryl Besich

RON & LOUISE HORN

Lanell & Kelly Ashley

KAREN KULTGEN

Fern Wolery

MYRON LELAND

Bob & Gloria Ralston

JOE LINCOLN

Fern Wolery

CARROL LIPP

Gary & Karen Flohr

Loren & Janice Soft

John Eastman

TOM LUDWIG

Fern Wolery

FRANK, BOBBIE, CRAIG, JOHN (BUDDY) & DORIS

MANNA

Robert Manna

KLAYTON MATTHEW

Sara Elfa Coblentz

DOROTHY MATOVICH

Joanne Berry

Ron Ahlgren

DEVIN MICHAELIS

Kathy McCleary

BOB MCCAULEY

Gary & Holly Adams

JUDGE R.D. MCPHILLIPS

Bernice McPhillips

PAUL MEISSNER

Fern Wolery

EARL MESSICK

Fern Wolery

DIANE MILLER

Fern Wolery

TARA MILLER

Robert Manna

MARY BETH MIROCK

Jeff & Cheryl Fitch

BRUCE MOOG

Fern Wolery

SANDY MRACHEK

Rose Chouinard

CHASE NORDQUIST

Beverly Johnston

PAUL PLYMALE

Paula Plymale

GARY RANKIN

Lee & Helen Harris

EDNA REESE

Fern Wolery

DELORES RECHTZIGEL

Dick & Mary Zeman

RON REIGHARD

Pam, Amanda & Jon Weigum

MABEL RENZ

Bob & Gloria Ralston

DAVID T RICCI

Margaret Ricci

GRACE RICHTER

Wolery

RUSTY RIDEOUT Fern Wolery

JABEZ W ROGERS Dan & Jayne Rogers

ILA RONNING Ardel Ronning

RHODA

ARNOLD R. SAUTHER

KAREN SCALESE

RICK SCHNEIDER Mel, Pam, Amanda & Jon Weigum

ERNEST C SMITH Fay Smith

BEVERLY SONKSEN

A YBGR calf at a Homes For Heifers ranch in northeast Montana.

KG Ranch’s prize Black Angus Bulls.

The main entrance to the KG Ranch.

A Roof Over Their Heads

The Uihlein Recreation Center (UC), one of campus’s main hubs, now has a new roof, and when the blessed spring rains came, UC Director Lisa Frazier and her crew no longer needed buckets to protect the gym floor. The UC serves as the headquarters for YBGR’s Recreational Therapy Program, ensuring that the kids have opportunities for daily recreation and exercise, even in the coldest months.

Thank you to all our donors who made the new roof possible, with special thanks to The Dean & Connie Studer Foundation, Alice Lee Lund Charitable Trust, Sigma DG Corporation, Gertrude Kamps Memorial Foundation, Darlene & Marvin Hartze, First Interstate Bank, and Phillips 66!

Let There Be Light!

The Bill & Anita Jones Equestrian Center received a new covering last fall, just in time for the snow to fly! The 20 new middle panels and two endcaps were replaced, and a new YBGR logoed banner was put up on the south side of the building. The difference, especially from the inside, is quite striking. The new panels allow more light to come through, and, more importantly, are not ripped and torn, keeping moisture and cold winds on the outside of the structure, preventing damage to the interior and ensuring Equilateral Therapy, Equine Therapy, and recreational riding remain available to YBGR’s youth year-round.

Riding In Style, Cows & Humans

With the current Ranch pickup truck topping 298,000 miles, the YBGR Ranch Program is the beneficiary of a new pickup truck and stock trailer in 2024. The pickup, a 2024 Chevrolet Silverado, and the trailer, a 2024 Titan stock trailer, are courtesy of generous donors. Ranch Manager Gary Adams will be putting on thousands of miles crisscrossing the region, delivering heifers and picking up calves for the Ranch’s Homes for Heifers program.

A big thank you to Missoula Chevrolet, Hoiness Family Foundation, Chris Hoiness, John Decker, and a large anonymous donor for their generosity! Your support drives our success!

A big thank you to all our donors who made this possible with special thanks to the Dan & Jeanne Scott Foundation, Charles M. Bair Family Trust, the Gertrude Kamps Memorial Foundation, Dorothy Bracken, and Sigma DG Corporation!

The new panels let light in and keep rain and snow out.

Recreational riding with the old panels overhead.

The new stock trailer will provide a safe ride to YBGR’s cows & calves.

Ranch Manager Gary Adams accepts the keys to the new pickup from Missoula Chevrolet’s Janelle Morehouse.

Playing volleyball in the UC swimming pool.

The kids enjoying a game of lightning.