Wyatt Ranches donates over $617K to support organizations in need

• Wyatt Ranches donated over $617,000 to organizations throughout the Coastal Bend.
• Organizations assisted include the Duval County Commissioner Precinct 4 Office, Histrocial Museum, and US Border Patrol.

The Wyatt Ranches Foundation and Wyatt Ranches recently provided grants and funding exceeding $617,000 for organizations and agencies during their most recent Wyatt Ranches Foundation Board of Directors meeting held at the Los Robles Division in Agua Dulce. Grants were awarded to several organizations to provide needed services and enhance the quality of life in rural communities of South Texas and beyond.

Duval County Precinct 4 Commissioner Marty Perez and Precinct Administrator Andrea Bierstedt requested a Ford Transit van for senior citizens’ recreational use throughout the county. According to a press release from Wyatt Ranches, Wyatt Ranches Facilities Specialist Santiago Vela of Realitos drove up with the unexpected gift - a fully loaded 2024 white high-top Ford Transit 15-passenger van - valued at $62,000.

Gracie Ramirez and Julio Rangel, both from the Duval County Historical Commission, to obtain funds for exterior building renovations and improved climate control at the commission’s museum in San Diego. The Historical Commission received a grant of $50,000 for their urgently needed building maintenance needs and upgrades.

Six US Border Patrol agents from Kingsville requested funding for their officer’s association to provide needed field support items and other family assistance for agents assigned to this area. The association also helps fund a remembrance monument for fallen agents in the area. The Wyatt Ranches Foundation acknowledged the agents’ unwavering dedication in their efforts to protect both the border and the frontier zone of South Texas. A $45,000 grant was provided to their association in Kingsville.

In San Diego, St. Francis de Paula Catholic Church’s Rev. James Farfaglia, accompanied by former Duval County Judge E. B. Garcia and Parish Youth Coordinator Cris Torres, requested $25,000 for their summer youth educational program. Father Farfaglia said the foundation’s grants to the parish had now totaled $335,000. Most of this money had gone towards the church’s interior and exterior renovations paid for by the Foundation.

Craig Henderson and Veronica Hudlow of the Corpus Christi Sailing Foundation received a $30,000 grant to be used in their water safety, a learn to swim program, and sailing training courses, held on the Corpus Christi Bay and at the Corpus Christi Yacht Club.

Duval County Sheriff Romeo Ramirez also requested funds for the county-wide toy give away for the county’s elementary school children, to be held again at the Tasajillo Division of Wyatt Ranches. Grant funding in the amount of $73,000 was allocated for the holiday event, and the Foundation’s board then directed Wyatt Ranches to provide additional in-kind services for the holiday event as well.

Agua Dulce Mayor John Howard and City Marshal Jose Rene “Joe” Martinez requested funding to subside the City Marshal’s Office. The marshal and his two deputies presented statistics and commentaries from the community supporting the office. The marshal gave details of his agency’s community partnership with Nueces County Sheriff J. C. Hooper. Community members complimented the marshal’s office for their community engagement and faster response times to emergencies. They also supported the partnership with Sheriff Hooper’s office in Corpus Christi. A grant in the amount of $100,000 was awarded to the City of Agua Dulce. In addition, another grant in the amount of $25,500 was given to the Marshal’s Office for their upcoming 2024 Christmas toy giveaway, held annually at the Los Robles Division of Wyatt Ranches.

Foundation President Billy C. Wells reminded the Board of Directors of the upcoming Senior Citizens Appreciation Luncheons, held annually at the Los Robles Division of Wyatt Ranches. Accordingly, a grant in the amount of $42,000 was allocated for the appreciation luncheons scheduled for November. The Foundation again instructed Wyatt Ranches to provide free services for this event.

Hidalgo County Sheriff Eddie Guerra, Chief Deputy Mario Lopez, and three deputies from the Hidalgo County Sheriff’s Office Community Foundation were approved for a $85,000 grant that would provide for their community engagement activities, scholarships for deputies’ college education and for the children of deputies at the Sheriff’s Office in Edinburg. Sheriff Guerra’s Foundation also provides children’s school supplies, a toy giveaway, and other family assistance for Hidalgo County residents.

Lastly, the Foundation supervised and oversaw additional grants, provided by Lynn Wyatt, the matriarch of Wyatt Ranches, in the amount of $80,000 for the cultural arts and a protective boundary fence for a campus, as requested.

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