  Legendary western
entertainers Roy Rogers and
Dale
Evans spent a lifetime devoted to children and their support of children
at
risk is well documented. The Happy Trails
Children's Foundation is pleased
to carry on the work with abused children that were so important to Roy
and
Dale.
The foundation built the Cooper Home in Apple Valley, CA to provide a safe haven for children-at-risk, who have been severely abused and/or neglected. The problem of child abuse is a very serious problem that is growing in epidemic proportions. Throughout the summer and fall of 2003, newspapers and news broadcasts have been filled with tragic stories of child abuse, molestation, kidnappings, beatings, severe neglect and death. Almost one-in-ten children nationwide are victims of brutal child abuse and the number of severe cases appears to be increasing at an alarming rate. There is an urgent need for the services provided by the Cooper Home. Happy Trails Children's Foundation in partnership with Trinity Children and Family Services continually operates the Cooper Home at maximum capacity with 44 boys between the ages of 10 and 15, plus we have a lengthy waiting list! These are boys that have been so severely abused, Child Protective Services has removed them from their homes and the courts send them to us. Since the Cooper Home opened in 1997, more than 350 children have received shelter, care and treatment services. Situated on 40 acres of land in the High Desert, the Cooper Home is surrounded by panoramic vistas of snow-capped mountains and natural desert terrain under healthy, smog-free skies. Our pleasant cottages and well-manicured outdoor play areas provide a peaceful, serene environment in which children can begin the healing process. The foundation has made great strides in recent years, but much remains to be done. There is an immediate need to expand the Cooper Home so that we can accommodate more abused children. Our next project is to build a third cottage on our campus that will house 24 more boys, bringing our total up to 68 beds. This much-needed project is estimated to cost in excess of $500,000. As Roy and Dale once said, “Together, all of us can make a difference for our beloved nation’s greatest treasure: its children.” The Happy Trails Children’s Foundation is a non-profit, tax-exempt charitable organization under the Internal Revenue Code, Section 501(c)(3), run by a volunteer board of directors, and a paid and volunteer staff. For more information, please call (760) 240-3330. |