Stable Days Youth Ranch

EIN: 27-5101840
Website: stabledays.org
Phone: 701-215-1837
Contact: Fayme Stringer Henry, fayme.stringer@gmail.com

Regional Impact:

• Community Served: Geographically, Grand Forks County, ND and Polk County, MN; Adventure-based Mentoring Sessions: age 5-17, services provided free of charge regardless of income; at least 67% of 2019 youth were verified low-income; Forks Well Fed Program: households meeting LMI criteria or food pantry/WIC/Free- or Reduced-Price Lunch recipients, per NDSU Extension program participation requirements. Numbers vary annually based on enrollment.
• Programming: Stable Days Youth Ranch has a mission to support and encourage youth down a path of personal development and this is achieved through a number of programs and partnerships on-site and within the community.  Adventure-based mentoring takes place on the ranch with youth, and is provided through equine care/small animal husbandry, gardening, orchard stewardship, and exploring the Red Lake River by kayak or canoe.  Adventures are adjusted accordingly, as nature itself provides a different lesson plan daily, from mucking stalls to chasing chipmunks.  Partnership learning sessions occur either on- or off-site, involve more families, and are primarily nutrition education based, with hands-on experience and building a range of good food skills and knowledge, from planting seeds, to cooking contests at the Farmers Market, to consuming the final products, to practices taught in the Lexicon of Sustainability (www.thelexicon.org).
• All sessions encourage thoughtfulness and creativity in connection between human and nature, helping to understand more about what happens both inside the body, and inside the mind when one is connected to the earth and its inhabitants, and to the food systems that nourish the planet.

Summary of Need: Stable Days is in need of repairs/rehab on the classroom building. We have an existing partnership with NDSU Extension and MN Extension that allows us to work with community members on building healthy nutritional skills are working towards an operational remote site for conducting satellite classes. We have found with the extreme weather this year a structural deficiency in the classroom building, and a corner of the roof is sagging when it rains heavily and there are now small leaks. We seek to offer a healthy space for on-site staff and students, program participants, and visitors. This same building also lost some electrical and heating on one side last year that needs to be replaced/repaired, along with an upgrade to an outlet that trips a breaker occasionally. Insulation of staff breakroom and classroom is also a top priority; we have most of the supplies for this project and are looking for the expertise and talent to see it through.