On August 20th I took a trip out to Saint Jude's Ranch For Children, in Boulder City Nevada, just outside of Las Vegas. Jay Bowman, Jolene Rust, my son Ade' and myself brought our guitars and voices along to play for the kids there.
Saint Jude's was started by Episcopal priest, Father Jack Adam who wanted to create a safe haven for abused, abandoned and neglected children in Southern Nevada. He named the organization after St. Jude, the Patron Saint of Desperate Causes. The forty acres of land that it sits on were donated via a fund raising event hosted by Ed MacMahon with performers Jack Benny, Shecky Greene, Bob Hope and Frank Sinatra in 1966. Originally the Ranch was staffed by Nuns, but today the Ranch is not affiliated with any religious body, although a gorgeous chapel still exists on the site.
We met in the cafeteria and played several songs for the children, foster parents and staff who all live on the ranch. The kids ranging from infants to teenagers were all thrilled and full of energy dancing and singing along. All the littlest kids took a particular fondness to Jolene who did not spend a moment without a toddler waiting to take a turn sitting in her lap.
After playing for the kids we took a walk around the grounds of the ranch and visited one of the ten homes on site. Each of the houses is a complete family structure with bedrooms kitchen living room etc. but most importantly each home has parents that live there full time. Each house has about 6 kids in it and every effort is made to make sure that siblings live together. The kids go to regular public schools and are each required to take care of there rooms and chores around the house. It was sad to see how little each of these kids has, just one or two toys or books that they keep displayed on there one bookshelf. I'm sure any donations of toys or books would be greatly appreciated. One boy had one picture on his shelf, a picture of his father who i could see in his eyes he loved very much. He then turned looked at me and said,"he's in prison".
Each of the kids were so sweet and were so proud to show off the acrobatic and juggling skills that they learned through a six week workshop put on by the amazing Cirque Du Soleil acrobats.
Saint Jude's is the only home facility in southern Nevada that provides car for teenage mothers. I met many of these mom's and their beautiful baby's. They were all bright, inspired and ambitious. Until Saint Jude's created a house for these young women, the only place the state had for them was in juvenile detention facilities where they said,"at least the women and their baby's had three square meals, healthcare and were not exposed to sexual abuse".
When I left Saint Jude's I had such a feeling of gratitude for having been adopted as a baby by The Franti Family who loved and cared for me. I was also grateful that for kids waiting adoption or placement back in their own homes in Southern Nevada that there is a place as loving as Saint Jude's. I look forward to returning there next year.
Saint Jude's receives 40 percent of it's annual budget from the state of Nevada, but as in most states these days, money for homes like this is dwindling each year. The other 60 percent comes from sales of recycled greeting cards that the kids themselves make and from the generous donations of people like you and I. If you would like to donate or find out more information about Saint Jude's Ranch For Children, please go to http://stjudesranch.org.
Thanks, Michael Franti
