Giving to Charity: Why Donors Are Heroes to Idaho's Kids

When Idaho’s kids need help, there are a special group of people out there ready to step up. They do not wear capes or masks or fly in at the last second. They are humble, everyday Idahoans who believe kids are more than their trauma and that is why they choose to give to charities like Idaho Youth Ranch.

Idaho’s kids need help, more so than kids in many other states. Kids in Idaho are living with higher rates of trauma than almost anywhere else in the United States. (In fact, only five states have higher rates of Adverse Childhood Experiences than Idaho.)

Why Give?

Everyone knows a kid who needed help. (If you know more than three kids, one of them needs help.) You can remember that kid who always came to school just a little unkempt and looked like he never had enough to eat. Maybe it was a girl who didn’t know how to respect herself. You can see their lives play out like a movie you’ve already seen.

Cute, lovable little kids who need someone to help them, who grow into angry teenagers who act out when nobody comes to their aid.

They spend their lives hearing, “What’s wrong with you?” As behaviors start to escalate from moodiness to violence, sneaking out, self-harm, or the myriad of ways that kids act out in a desperate attempt to get someone to give them the attention they need, the adults in their lives often get angrier and worn down.

Eventually, kids start to hear things about themselves like “They’re just a bad apple” or “That kid is just going to wind up behind bars someday.” Far too many kids don’t know how to ask for the help they need, and too many parents don’t have the emotional or financial resources to help.

That’s why Idaho Youth Ranch donors are heroes to our kids.

Those who support our programs are a rare kind of generous who never ask, “What’s wrong with that kid?” Instead, they say, “What happened to make them so lost and angry and scared?”

Idaho Youth Ranch donors represent the best kind of people because they stand up for kids by supporting proven therapies that:

• Help kids and families process difficult or traumatic events.
• Bring families closer together by opening up lines of communication and trust.
• Focus on what a young person is good at and building on those strengths.
• Equip vulnerable kids with the emotional skill set and fortitude they need to face life’s challenges and cope with them in healthy, resilient ways.

Keeping Your Dollars at Home

One of the hardest parts about your decision to give to charity is knowing that your dollars will make an impact in the community where you live and work. Make a tax-deductible donation to Idaho Youth Ranch can, not only help you with taxes, it keeps your dollars helping kids right here in Idaho. 

Your tax-deductible donation reaches kids throughout Idaho with proven support by supporting programs in the Treasure Valley and Northern Idaho. 

Why should you give to Idaho Youth Ranch?

We love our donors. Their kindness is the lifeblood of the work we do every day, and their generosity has changed and saved countless lives (check out our success stories). We know that we have to earn their trust.

That’s why we are dedicated to transparency about where the dollars that provide proven therapies come from and where it goes.

Our donors make it possible for young people to get the help they need when they need it. Your tax-deductible donations change the lives of vulnerable young people by helping them change behaviors like self-harm, suicidal ideation, violence, and other dangerous behaviors into hope, healing, and resilience.

Idaho kids need an Idaho solution.

Idaho Youth Ranch has been helping kids since 1953. In the old days, our founders believed that young people needed a safe place with caring adults who could help them forge a better path for their future. We have stayed true to that legacy by expanding to include proven therapies throughout the state, each of which is backed by modern research.

We believe that kids are more than the worst things that have ever happened to them. Whether it is abuse, loss, violence, bullying, or adversity, our donors make it possible for us to build a therapy plan to meet each kid's unique needs and goals.

These are our kids, and we rely on the best of Idahoans to stand with us as we work to help break generational chains of trauma.

How Can You Help?

Making a tax-deductible donation is easy (just click here, seriously!) and it is put to immediate use to start helping Idaho kids.

Because Idaho Youth Ranch is a 501c3 nonprofit organization, donations qualify for tax deductions (so talk to your accountant about the latest laws). You can donate cash, stock, cars, and even leave Idaho’s kids in your will by naming us in a charitable bequest.

Giving to an Idaho charity like Idaho Youth Ranch makes you a hero to vulnerable families throughout our great state.