03 Oct 2016 Soaring Wings open house

Soaring Wings Ranch will host an open house 6 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 4, in celebration of its new infant/toddler house.

For the first time since its opening, children under the age of 6 will soon be able to find a home at Soaring Wings Ranch, located at 230 Sawmill Road in the Holland community.

On Aug. 1, 2007, this Christian home for kids in need welcomed its first children (a sibling group of three). Since then, four home have been built. Each is staffed with house parents who help raise the children at Soaring Wings Ranch as their own. Until now, all of those children have been ages 6 to 18.

In March 2015, the number of children in state custody was 4,178. This summer, that number exceeded 5,000 for the first time. Foster families receive the vast majority of these placements, but Soaring Wings Ranch provides another option for case workers and families in crisis. 

In the past, sibling groups that included children both over and under the age of 6 could not be placed together at Soaring Wings Ranch without being split up. The new Infant and Pre-school Home will serve ages birth through 5 years, allowing such sibling groups to remain together. This home will also serve as an emergency placement for infant and pre-school children who, through no fault of their own, come into state custody. 

For more information, contact founder/executive director Andrew Watson at [email protected] or visit swranch.org.