A Day at the Ranch

St. Jude’s Ranch for Children Provides a Home for Youngsters in Need

McCarthy’s Community Day at St. Jude’s Ranch for Children in Nevada was once again proof that building better projects goes hand-in-hand with building better communities. Each year McCarthy’s Nevada Division organizes an annual Community Day, a paid day off from work that enables employees at every level to contribute their skills to aid local organizations in need.

“Our annual Community Day is important and meaningful to us as employee-owners,” explains Ray Sedey, executive vice president of McCarthy. “This day provides us an opportunity to come together and contribute our time, talent and craftsman skills toward improving the quality of life in our community.”

This year McCarthy Heart Hat volunteer team members selected the St. Jude’s Ranch for Children in Boulder City as the recipient of Community Day efforts. For more than 40 years, St. Jude’s has provided a safe and nurturing home for abused, abandoned and neglected children. Over the years, the constant upkeep of the facility has been a struggle for the organization due to limited funding. For example, St. Jude’s relies on outside help to keep the 40-acre campus up-to-date. By teaming up with Tyco Fire Company for the all-day event, McCarthy was able to bring together more than 200 volunteers to help.

“In our business of taking care of abused, abandoned and neglected children, there is a gap in funding of over 60 percent every single day,” explains Sarah Sheehan, director of community relations for St. Jude’s Ranch for Children. “The state and county government pay for just under 40 percent of what it actually costs to care for our children, so having groups like McCarthy help us on much-needed services enables us to focus more on providing for our children and making sure they are receiving high-quality care.” 

A large group of volunteers united to help St. Jude’s complete a wish list of projects, including:

• Creating a child-friendly play area for the young mother’s house by removing crushed rocks and patio stones and placing them with thick interlocking rubber flooring and installing new outdoor lighting
• Repainting and decorating of the Paulson Community Center, as well as installing and painting new lattice for the exterior
• Redesigning the gift shop and donation center
• Organizing and hanging holiday décor from storage
• Providing general maintenance and landscaping

“It is through the generosity of service projects like the one McCarthy did for us that help us to survive in these tough economic times,” adds Sheehan. “What McCarthy was able to do in a matter of hours was something we would not have been able to accomplish in months, years…or ever! We are so incredibly grateful for McCarthy and the help they have provided St. Jude’s Ranch.”

About St Jude’s Ranch
St. Jude’s Ranch for Children serves all abused, abandoned and neglected children and families, creating new chances, new choices and new hope in a safe, homelike environment.

ABOUT MCCARTHY HEART HATS
A 100 percent employee-owned company, McCarthy employees are passionate about building better communities. The McCarthy Heart Hats program is the volunteer-based community outreach program of McCarthy dedicated to encouraging, supporting and recognizing McCarthy volunteer efforts in a variety of causes to ensure real needs are being met in communities where employees work, live and play.