Candlelight Ranch

Sustainable Empowerment

By Erica Rascón on Jul 24, 2014 in Giving, People

Candlelight Ranch provides nature-based camps for children with special needs. By customizing experiences to accommodate each group, children receive the care that they deserve as well as the challenges and opportunities that they crave.

Public Relations and Marketing Chair, Adrienne Hagler, has served Candlelight Ranch for four years. The joy of working with a nonprofit was the supplement she needed in the routine of her everyday life. “To feel good when you wake up every day makes a difference,” says Hagler. “It’s not just happiness in your own life but in many lives, the majority of those who are children, some who have special needs and some who are at risk. It feels good be involved in something that promotes development and wellness in a natural environment.”

Personal development and wellness is a focal point for Candlelight Ranch. Camp programs foster a sense of independence, self-confidence, and exploration. “A lot of kids who have special needs don’t serve their own plates at breakfast or wash up on their own or brush their own teeth,” begins Hagler. “A day at camp at Candlelight Ranch, these kids are encouraged to do it on their own.”

Activities start first thing in the morning: outdoor excursions, soaring over the canyon on zip lines, hiking down to fresh water springs, or testing their bravery on a suspended ropes course. All activities are made accessible for participants. An all-terrain wheelchair offers kids the opportunity to tackle rugged terrain with their peers. Even the tree house is wheelchair accessible, providing a rare opportunity for kids with mobility issues to fulfill a typical childhood dream. Each activity instills self-confidence and opens a world of possibilities for the children.

While the physical activities strengthen their bodies and their sense of personal accomplishment, Candlelight Ranch’s equine interaction allows youth to dive deeper into their emotional connection with other living beings. “It’s a therapeutic session,” explains Hagler. “Children can connect with a creature in nature that’s greater than themselves: they get to paint them, interact with them, put their hand print on them, and develop a bond and a friendship. Often, children with autism or children in an abusive home environment may not, in any other setting, have the opportunity to make connections with other humans or animals. Through the equine therapy, they can start to develop that type of bond.”

A portion of Yardi’s recent contributions to Candlelight Ranch were used to enhance equine programming and assist in funding the EAGALA Certification of Program Director, Lynette Holtz. Additional funds were used to offset costs for the facility’s new interactive water feature, ChillVille.

Candlelight Ranch was positioned as a waterfront property, furnishing kids with lake access to cool off during the hot Texas summers. A series of droughts have withdrawn the lakefront altogether. ChillVille is a creative way to help kids cool off while enjoying the outdoors. The water feature operates via sustainable rainwater collection and filtration systems, a design that won the 2013 Rain Catcher Award through the American Rainwater Catchment Systems Association (ARCSA).

While students are having fun in the great outdoors, they are also learning valuable life skills that they will carry with them through adulthood. By equipping students with the tools to develop physical, mental, and emotional strength, Candlelight Ranch forms a sustainable support system for kids with special needs. Participants leave with a can-do attitude, new friendships, and experiences that they will never forget. “It’s truly a life-changing experience for the kids,” says Hagler.

To support Candlelight Ranch in its mission to empower youth, explore ways that you can donate to the camp.