Christmas Festivities at The Refuge Ranch
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This week, we are celebrating our third Christmas at The Refuge Ranch! We feel so blessed by the community that helps us to provide the girls with a Christmas they will cherish forever. Through your generous donations, we have been able to decorate the ranch, give wonderful gifts to the girls, and fill the time off from school with fun activities.
All of the cottages at The Refuge Ranch are decorated with trees and ornaments from Girls Energized to Make a Difference.
Amy Younkman of Brunch Babes delivering handmade stockings
We know that the holidays are challenging for many, including the residents in our care, and it is through your support that we are able to help the girls feel at home during the holiday season.
Christmas festivities began a few weeks ago when the girls decorated each cottage at the ranch with Christmas trees and ornaments provided by Girls Energized to Make a Difference, a service organization made up of Westlake High School students. These Christmas trees and ornaments will be cherished at the ranch for years to come! Handmade stockings filled with goodies were provided by Brunch Babes, who provide beautiful gift sets for the girls every holiday.
Two weeks ago, Santa made a surprise visit to The Refuge Ranch! Though the girls are old enough to figure out that Santa was really our Director of Human Resources, they certainly got a kick out of Newton, our favorite therapy horse turned Instagram-influencer, joining in on the fun as a stand-in reindeer.
Santa and his new reindeer, Newton!
A winter village of gingerbread houses.
Winter Break officially kicked off last Friday, and there has been a flurry of Christmas crafting at The Refuge Ranch since, including sweater, ornament, gingerbread house and cookie decorating. Thank you to Flourish and the Austin chapter of Beta Sigma Phi for providing an endless supply of crafts and fun activities that have helped build excitement for Christmas Day!
Thank you to the many other organizations and individuals who have helped us prepare for Christmas at The Refuge Ranch—to Marjie Walters and the Quintos Family for donating matching pajamas for the girls to wear on Christmas Eve, to Trihn Pham for providing beauty supply kits for the girls, to Johnnie Harris and friends for donating gift cards that helped us decorate every inch of the ranch and provide meals for our staff working over the holiday, to Courtney Thomas for providing gift baskets for the girls and for our wonderful staff, to volunteers from The Lakeway Church who helped us shuttle seven SUV’s full of donations out to the ranch and to the countless others whose support makes our work possible year-round.
And finally, a big thank you to Erskine & Blackburn for providing the girls with items from their personal wish lists for the third year in a row. We cannot wait to see the joy on the girls’ faces when they open their presents on Christmas morning.
We are so grateful for the many blessings you have given us this year. Merry Christmas!
Flourish dropping off Christmas crafts at our Austin office.
Beta Sigma Phi donating $2,893 worth of in-kind and cash donations.
Volunteers from The Lakeway Church shuttling items to The Refuge Ranch.
Have you seen our Christmas Special? This time last year, a team of thirty-five angels moved Heaven and literal Earth and accomplished a miracle the day before Christmas. Please watch and share!
