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Each year, our generous community of supporters steps up to make sure that this time of year is merry and bright for youth in our community by supporting our Hope for the Holidays program. This year, our donors showed up in a big way, spreading holiday cheer and supporting double the number of families that we supported last year!  

The Buckeye Ranch’s Hope for the Holidays program matches donors with youth and families receiving support from The Buckeye Ranch. When matched with a youth, each donor receives a wish list of their needs this holiday season and provides hope by making those wishes come true.  

Stepping Up to Support the Greatest Needs to Date 

In 2024, we received 1,189 wish lists from youth and families being supported by one or more of The Buckeye Ranch’s programs. This year, with social service benefits at risk for many in our community, families needed our support more than ever. We received more than 2,500 wish lists this year, a 110% increase in need.  

Our team was blown away by donors that stepped up to support families in our community during this time of critical need. We called on each of you to consider supporting the program in October and November to meet the needs of youth we’re supporting, and you answered the call. 

We feel honored to share that more than 450 donors stepped up to fulfill hundreds of total wish lists and gave nearly $30,000 to ensure each young person and the youth living in their home had a warm holiday season.  This generosity made the holidays special for nearly 500 households across our community – a truly life-changing impact.  

Raising More Hope, Together 

We were blown away by our community’s willingness to take on the increased need, but the support didn’t stop there.  

Donors not only signed up to fulfill wish lists, send items to our general supply so we can meet the needs of youth and families. Every child deserves support, and because of each of you, they had it this holiday season. 

Additionally, our community showed up to make sure that the logistics of donor drop-off and gift delivery went seamlessly.  

Each year, we host two donor drop off days to collect all donations at our Michael and Paige Crane Center for Youth and Families Headquarters in Whitehall. Preparing the space to receive gifts for more than 2,500 youth is no small feat. From creating loading zones, facilitating check in, sorting gifts, and readying the items for pick up and family delivery, it takes all of us. It simply would not have been possible without the support of our dedicated  over 50 volunteers.  

We are so grateful to each of our individual volunteers, as well as our volunteer groups from Northwestern Mutual,and Origo Branding Company, . Thank you for making this program possible this year.  

We absolutely could not do this critical work without the generosity of our community. Sometimes, gifts provided through the Hope for the Holidays programs are the only gifts youth in our programs receive. Donors who support the program create special holiday memories that youth carry with them for the rest of their lives.

Sharing community with neighbors who are committed to showing up for one another means everything to our team. We’re eternally grateful that you share our belief that there is hope within every family. Your kindness is healing, and we hope you continue to shine your light on others through the holiday season and beyond. Thank you to all those who helped make the season bright for the youth and families we serve! 

Want to support youth and families served by The Buckeye Ranch but didn’t get to be a part of Hope for the Holidays this year? No problem. You can make a monetary gift today in support of our programs. Thank you for your commitment to our mission.