Events
Ranch Events
HCYR puts on a variety of special events throughout the year to raise funds and awareness for all 3 of our campuses.
For information about current events, please contact us at communications@youth-ranch.org
48TH ANNUAL HEALING HEARTS LUNCHEON
The 48th annual Healing Hearts Celebration, Style Show, & Auction will be held at the Y.O. Ranch Hotel & Conference Center on Tuesday, October 1st.
The Healing Hearts Celebration includes a delicious lunch, updates from Hill Country Youth Ranch's Executive Director, a Style Show of the best fashions from the HCYR Thrift Store, Raffles,
Silent Auction, Live Auction, and shopping for fashionable clothing, jewelry, and accessories from the Thrift Store Boutique!
OPEN HOUSE SERIES
Please contact Sara Skaines at communications@youth-ranch.org for more information and scheduling.
Our Open Houses are the perfect opportunity to see firsthand the impact of our work and to discover ways to get involved!
You will have the chance to tour our facilities, meet our staff, and learn more about our programs and services. Whether you are interested in volunteering or advocating for HCYR, we welcome you!
Holidays at HCYR
A part of the healing process includes making good memories. We work hard to create an environment where kids can have fun and embrace their childhood. Here are just some of our events that we put on annually for our Ranch family:
Easter Weekend
Every Good Friday since 1978, our
Founder Gary Priour has retold the Easter story under the same old oak tree, to residents and staff, before our annual garden planting. The planting of seeds, he explains, parallels
the Easter story. The miracle of transformation follows a time of darkness.
After planting, fun activities fill the weekend, including a traditional Easter egg hunt, pictures with the Easter Bunny, and a delicious meal. Easter is presented as a weekend of good news,
with a unifying story of healing and new life, as well as an occasion to look forward to!
Thanksgiving
Gathering for a Thanksgiving meal while sharing reasons to be thankful is the oldest tradition at the Youth Ranch, dating back to a simple picnic in 1977 when volunteers gathered under an oak tree on the undeveloped land. To this day, we repeat the ritual faithfully.
Expressions of gratitude bring out the best in everyone, especially when bonding over holiday food! After dinner, we listen to songs and poems, and watch perfomances that the children put together. We are glad we have a holiday focused on the good things God has done.
Christmas
Most of our children have unfortunately been deprived of the magic of Christmas. We approach this holiday as a time to shower children with gifts, holiday food, and fun events in order to give them a whole new experience. Every year our children get to create their own Christmas list so that they can feel special, appreciated, and valued.
For many of our Alumni, this yearly program is a time that they often look back on and share. It is a time for making new memories with new friends and becoming part of a new tradition that they can share with their own families in the future.