RAINBOW ACRES BLOG

After crunching the numbers, it is clear that 2009 was another exceptional year for volunteering at Rainbow Acres. Both Christ Community Church of Milipitas, CA and Hillside Community Church of Alta Loma, CA gave Rainbow incredible volunteer service, with over 1,000 hours each! Total, Rainbow Acres benefited from over 10,000 hours of service from church groups around the country. Many of these hours were put in by individual volunteers who came independently and of their own accord to show their dedication daily.  It is with the support of our church volunteers, as well as the individual friends and family members who come to serve, that Rainbow is able to offer such a wonderful service to adults with developmental disabilities. It is the infectious spirit of the Ranchers and the dedicated staff that keeps these volunteers coming back. Thank you, volunteers, for making 2009 another great year!

This will be the third Christmas Rainbow Acres has had the privilege of adopting a Camp Verde family in need. Last year, we had enough money to provide a gift card and something for every child. This year had been going a little slow, but recently has exceeded any expectation we may have had. In addition to the generosity of Rainbow employees and Ranchers, I was surprised yesterday to see one of our employees unpack from his vehicle a brand new Huffy ten-speed bike for the oldest girl (at just twelve years of age). I was speechless. His only comment was “Christmas is for the kids, right?”

Once I started telling others that we had gotten a bike for the child, everyone wanted to give more to enable us to buy a bike for her younger brother (six years old) as well. He has been hoping that Santa would bring him a bike. Today, we have more than enough money to purchase and deliver two bikes, two $50.00 gift certificates, clothes, toys and games for this family.

Though we will never know the names of the family members we are serving, we will know that we have made a difference in their lives and have made Christmas a joyful occurrence in an often unhappy time. I have learned during these past few holiday seasons that our Ranchers know, more than anybody, that Christmas is really about giving to others and being truly grateful in what we have already been blessed with.

- Chris Walker, Rainbow Acres Director of Health & Wellness

Greetings friends of Rainbow Acres! We are so please to announce the addition of an interactive blog to the Rainbow Acres website. It is part of our ongoing effort to connect more effectively with our friends and supporters, and will be accompanied in the near future by a presence on some popular social media sites.

We hope you enjoy reading this blog, and hearing the stories that the Rainbow Ranchers, employees, friends and families are aching to share.

May God bless you and warm your heart this holiday season!