Dream Ranch

Aug 1, 2006 12:00 PM, By Ashley Roe

Taffie Mallard has a dream. The 59-year-old school security guard has been working to construct a rural youth camp where inner-city kids can come together and find a life outside their crime-populated streets. For two years, the former South Bend, Ind., Parks and Recreation policeman has been trying to get his idea heard — and funded.

“I came up with this idea for a number of reasons,” Mallard says. “After being on the park police and seeing these people getting shot for no reason at all, I decided we needed a place for kids to go to show them there is another side of life.” With that thought in mind, he founded the non-profit organization My Ranch Inc.

“It's called ‘My Ranch’ because I want my kids to feel like it belongs to them,” Mallard says. Some features of the planned 579-acre camp in rural Indiana include boys' and girls' dormitories, a library, a basement and tents. Campers will take part in activities such as basketball, swimming and horseback riding. In addition, Mallard plans to teach kids about agriculture, giving them the opportunity to study various livestock up close. The camp will also provide counseling for troubled youth, and, above all, will function as a safe setting for inner-city kids to develop amicable relationships away from the dangers of city life.

Mallard says he wants to get security personnel involved in working with young campers in order to forge a positive relationship between the two groups. “We want the kids to have a sense that policemen and security guards are not all ‘bad people’ and beat-ups,” he says.

Mallard hopes to begin construction on the camp by the end of the year and expects to have it running in 2009. Upon completion, My Ranch Inc. will serve 200 boys and 200 girls. “It will be fully supported through donations and open to everyone,” he says. “We'll take kids whose parents make $50,000 or $5,000 — it doesn't matter.”

My Ranch Inc. marks Mallard's second attempt at creating a safe haven for kids living in big cities. On a previous endeavor, Mallard opened a teen nightclub called “Teen Enterprise,” offering alcohol- and drug-free activities for its attendees. The club was open for two years before a shooting incident permanently shut it down. “That prompted me to continue working to find a solution to this problem,” he says.

As a person working in juvenile security for more than 30 years, Mallard sees how widespread teen crime has become. “Kids are not just getting shot in South Bend. This is a problem all over the country,” he says. The South Bend Community Schools security guard hopes to get other school systems, companies and individuals coast-to-coast involved in the fundraising process. “I want this, whether it helps 10,000 kids or 10. If I can just save a few, this dream will have become reality,” Mallard says.

For more information on making a donation to My Ranch Inc., call (574) 232-2803 or (574) 339-7830.

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