Angel Ranch closes due to lack of funds

Angel Ranch, a house that has been used as a shelter for kids since 2006, has shut down due to lack of funding.
“I am disappointed,” Angel Ranch executive director Sue Turner said. “I am very disappointed that the community at large did not provide support to sustain a shelter for foster children.”
The Angel Ranch, a public, non-profit charity, has struggled over the past year. In June 2011, the ranch stopped accepting abused children, and as of Aug. 13, the ranch was no longer listed as a non-profit organization.
Turner was the only employee left at the conclusion of Angel Ranch and said she is grateful for the help that was received during the charity’s lifetime. She said many University of Mississippi students supported the charity by hosting fundraising efforts and volunteering hours of their time.
“My favorite memory was the student involvement,” Turner said. “The Ole Miss student generosity is overwhelming. The students gave unconditionally of their resources with no expectations in return and without being told what the money was being spent on. I am grateful to them for their compassion and sense of civic responsibility.”
The Kappa Sigma fraternity chose Angel Ranch as the recipient of its annual philanthropy, Angel Ranch Diamond Day Tournament, and has invested over $100,000 in the lives of the foster children of Angel Ranch since 2004. The Ranch even attended Diamond Days this past year, which earned more than $40,000 towards the charity.
Other organizations have also conducted events to benefit Angel Ranch, such as walk/runs, gold tournaments and silent auctions, barbecues, dipes and wipes drives, food and household needs collections, yard work and tutoring.
“It became very strenuous to be able to find funding to meet project needs,” Turner said. “Without a funding source to meet operating costs, it is impossible to run the shelter.”
Mississippi Secretary of State’s Office put the Angel Ranch property up for sale in September 2011.
The property will be sold or donated to another non-profit organization registered with the Secretary of State’s Division Charities, and the former shelter has been listed in the Oxford Eagle and the LafaShopper.
Currently, Angel Ranch is completing all necessary paperwork to dissolve with the assistance of the Mississippi Secretary of State. All assets are being donated to other organizations registered with the Mississippi Secretary of State, and Angel Ranch will end business within the next few months when it will also dissolve its relationship with the IRS as a 501 (c) 3 organization.
Created in 2004, the Angel Ranch facility opened on Nov. 1, 2006, in the Pine Flat area of Lafayette County for abused and neglected children. The children stayed at Angel Ranch until they were placed in foster homes by the Mississippi Department of Human Services.
Angel Ranch served 107 children from 28 Mississippi counties during its life, including 15 sibling groups that were not separated, and 13 children who stayed for multiple visits.
The ranch also provided for the physical needs of the foster children who were living there at the time of closure.
However, the children Angel Ranch cared for are still in the legal custody of the Mississippi Department of Human Services, which will continue to make decisions on their behalf.
Ultimately, Turner said her favorite part of the job was working with Ole Miss students, and she will always cherish the memories she has obtained from that.
“Working with the university students was inspiring; it kept me going, and it was encouraging to see the involvement of Ole Miss university students whose hearts were for our cause and our mission,” she said.
“My favorite part was the interactions of the kids from Angel Ranch with the university kids.”