Valentine's Day at The Refuge Ranch
Guest User
Valentine’s Day is one of our favorite holidays at The Refuge Ranch—we use this day of love as an excuse to dress to the nines, celebrate sisterhood, and lovingly serve a formal meal to the girls in our care.
On Valentine’s Day, residents and House Moms at The Refuge Ranch received themed gift baskets, donated by Brunch Babes and Lakeway Church Women’s Ministry, including makeup, nail polish, candy and other sweet treats.
The girls and staff took time to write notes of love and encouragement for each other on over 300 handmade cards. The cards were decorated by the NXP Semiconductors Women’s Leadership Team, the Wooten neighborhood group, and troops from the Girl Scouts of Central Texas Sunnyside Service Unit. Thank you for creating these beautiful cards!
Girl Scout Troop 42116
NXP Semiconductors Women’s Leadership Team
Over 300 handmade Valentine cards
In the evening on Valentine’s Day, Heidi Moga and Kelli Knight, former House Moms who still volunteer to serve the girls, planned to host our second annual Valentine’s Day dinner in The Chapel. The winter storm complicated our plans, but our staff and volunteers were determined and they executed a flawless dinner two weeks later. (Read heartwarming stories from our frozen week here.)
The week leading up to the dinner was full of excitement as each girl received a brand-new prom dress from Foster Angels of Central Texas. On Saturday night, the girls donned their sparkly dresses and high heels and arrived at The Chapel to find it filled with red and pink balloons, flowers, and flickering (flameless) candles.
Each place was set with a red heart placemat, a cloth napkin in a napkin ring, and a fork for each course. “I’ve never seen anything like this except in movies,” one girl remarked as she took her place at the table.
Staff and volunteers served the girls three courses, including soup and salad, a sorbet palate cleanser, Chicken Cordon Bleu, and mini bundt cakes for dessert. The girls were primed with a mini etiquette lesson, and many of them laughed as they reminded one another which fork to use and how to signal they were finished with their course.
The girls joyfully took turns posing for pictures in their prom dresses. Many returned to our photo backdrop repeatedly throughout the night, with another staff member or friend in tow each time, so they would have photos with every single person to mark the occasion. It was an evening of pure delight all around, and we cannot wait to continue the tradition again next year.