Providence Ranch Ministries is a nonprofit organization that began in 2008. Their purpose is to provide mentoring, sheltering, teaching, and healing for area youth and families through relationship-building, animal-assisted activities, and outdoor activities in a Christian environment. The president, Pamela Upgren, and her husband Randy run the day-to-day operations of the ranch.
Providence Ranch Ministries began as a way for Pam and Randy to share the blessings they felt they had been given at their ranch. They felt many kids in the local community would benefit from the opportunity to participate at the ranch, including kids who may not otherwise have the resources to be involved with horses. They also felt that it is very important to provide mentorship and guidance for youth in a Christian setting.
Even though they are in a rural state, kids that live in town typically do not have the opportunity to be involved with animals such as horses, unless they have the monetary resources. (Owning or boarding a horse is usually very costly.) They believe that the youth benefit from having adult relationships in their lives that foster personal growth and confidence.
The program continues to grow. They have had very good responses to their camp sessions in the summer, and they’ve seen a growing number of kids who are interested in doing “One on One” sessions with a mentor. They hope to add more summer camps, increase their “One on One” individual sessions, include more seasonal one-time events, and begin outreach by partnering with other community organizations dealing with youth.
They explained, “Aplos has allowed a small non-profit organization like ourselves to find a tool that was very easy to set up, customize and use for our purposes. It really fit our needs well. It provides great printouts of the information that we need to share with board members or state regulatory agencies.”
We at Aplos are proud to have customers that make a difference, and we wish all the best for Pam, Randy, and the work of Providence Ranch Ministries.
