Home On The Range Capital Campaign

August 25, 2004 PRESS RELEASE

Home On The Range is $400,000 closer to meeting its goal to build a new girls’ dormitory. In July they received $200,000 from the estate of Loretta Schreiber and a $200,000 gift from a donor who prefers to remain anonymous. These gifts bring the amount raised to date to $1.7 million.

Home On The Range has been raising money for the much-needed dorm for three years and construction started this last spring. Patrick Petermann, Executive Director, said, “With the price of lumber increasing all the time, we decided to start construction. We knew we might be a little short of funding, but the Lord has taken care of us for the last 54 years and I know He’s still looking out for us.”

Changes are visible each day. Right now, the walls and roof tresses are going up. Plans are being made to install the underground heating/cooling system at the end of the month.

“It’s exciting to see the progress being done. For three years we’ve talked about our project and dreamed of the day we could actually see it,” Patrick Petermann said. “The girls and their staff are especially excited to see the dorm come together. They’ve put up with a lot of inconveniences for a long time.”

With a target move-in date scheduled for spring 2004, some of the girls now living at Home On The Range will be the first residents in the new building. They are already talking about having their own bathroom and a recreation room they don’t have to share with the boys.

The cost of the building is just over $2 million, leaving $300,000 to be raised before November. Home On The Range administration is confident that with the generosity and good-will of friends, neighbors and benefactors, their goal will be attained.

Home On The Range is proud to announce the campaign for the new girls’ dorm has exceeded $1,000,000, which means only $200,000 is needed to reach the campaign goal! The amount raised keeps climbing thanks to the generosity of directors, employees, friends, benefactors and organizations.

Supporting the project from the very beginning are HOTR’s Board of Directors and employees. Combined, they have given more than $35,000 to the girls’ dorm. A plaque engraved with the names will be placed in the building, honoring their generosity and commitment.

At the Dakota State Eagle Convention in Vermillion, South Dakota, Home On The Range was presented $15,365 from both North Dakota and South Dakota delegates. At the Minnesota State Eagle Convention in Bemidji, Minnesota, Kris Dowling, MN State Madam President, presented Patrick Petermann with a check for $10,000 from the Jimmy Durante funds. FOE Aerie #2258 from Albert Lea, Minnesota, also presented $10,000 for Fahnlander Hall. This money was from many fund raisers they held the past year.

Continuing a 53-year tradition, the Fraternal Order of Eagles clubs and individual members from across the country have given to the new dorm. After an article about the new dorm appeared in the national Eagle magazine, many individuals contacted HOTR for more information or sent a donation in memory of Father Fahnlander.

It hasn’t been just the Eagles helping HOTR with this endeavor, but many other friends and benefactors. This year’s spring appeal was earmarked for the girls’ dorm and we received a remarkable response. People were very willing to help, and share their special stories about Father Fahnlander or a visit they had at HOTR.

All gifts and donations to the dorm are greatly appreciated. Some businesses have generously given in-kind gifts of materials or construction such as use of equipment; aggregate for parking lot, concrete, fire code sheet rock, cables for telephone and computer, or kitchen cabinetry for dining room; dirt removal or construction supervision. These items lower the amount of money needed for the actual construction and count towards our goal.

Although the girls currently living in the dorm will not be here to move into the new dorm, they are excited to hear about the plans and say how “lucky” the new girls will be. Two girls will share a room and they will have their own bathroom; the girls will have a recreation room, study hall room, and kitchen (no more sharing with the boys); they will have their own laundry room and a place to store their personal belongings; and a “home” that is safe, secure and private.

It has been two years since Pat Petermann, Executive Director, first announced the campaign and the need for a new dormitory. Employees and volunteers have been working diligently to raise money and donations of equipment and building materials; and will continue to do so until the goal is met. The cost of the building is $1.5 million. With perseverance and prayers, construction of the new “Fahnlander Hall” will begin spring of 2004.

For more information, or to send a tax-deductible donation to “Fahnlander Hall”, contact Home On The Range at 16351 I-94, Sentinel Butte, North Dakota 58654 or 701-872-3745.

Home On The Range was recently awarded $240,000 from the Bush Foundation of St. Paul, Minnesota. The grant goes towards the construction of their new girls’ dormitory. The donation brings the funds raised to date to $900,000.

“We are very excited about this news,” Patrick J. Petermann, Executive Director of HOTR said. “It brings a new level of energy into the campaign. We are getting close to our goal (1.2 million dollars) and I am confident we will reach it in the very near future.”

The Home On The Range employees have enhanced the campaign as well. Over half of the staff have made commitments that exceeded the original goal of $15,000. They are working towards the challenge goal of $25,000.

Petermann went on to explain, “Our staff realize firsthand the need for a new girls’ dorm and the urgency of reaching our goal. I am very proud of the way they have stepped forward to help.”

Home On The Range has been conducting a capital campaign to raise money to build a new girls’ dorm. The dorm will be home to 24 troubled teenage girls. The building will have larger bedrooms, a study hall, two recreation rooms, and a nurse’s station. Construction is anticipated to begin the fall of 2003.

Home On The Range is a therapeutic residential childcare facility helping boys and girls ages 10-18. The staff teach the children valuable life skills so they can return to their families and communities.