Inspired by past BASF President Stephanie Skaff’s “It Starts with a Day,” and continued by 2015 BASF President Tim Moppin, Jeff Bornstein, Rosen Bien Galvan & Grunfeld, and Cloey Hewlett, Nossaman, organized the third trip to Log Cabin Ranch School High School (LCR), a unique court-ordered school located 45 miles south of San Francisco in the town of La Honda.

LCR, run by the San Francisco Juvenile Probation Department, houses San Francisco’s most “at-risk” male juveniles for whom criminal charges have been adjudicated. The majority of these youth are habitually truant and would otherwise drop out of school. Students participate in a comprehensive school program that not only provides educational opportunities, but also offers them the necessary therapeutic and vocation services essential to reduce future contacts with the justice system.

In November, twelve volunteers, paired with an LCR resident, spent the day gardening, talking, and sharing lunch.

The volunteers described the day as one of the most meaningful and important volunteer experiences of their lifetime. While some of the youth have been committed to LCR for serious offenses, all the volunteers walked away understanding that the LCR residents are truly “just kids” in tremendous need of support. The youth wholeheartedly enjoyed the opportunity to share a full day with a caring adult.

Many of the volunteers from prior visits have continued a relationship with the youth.

For this volunteer outing, BASF partnered with Urban Sprouts, a San Francisco nonprofit that engages the young men in growing food from seed to table, helping them to make real changes in their eating habits and physical activity.

BASF is committed to continuing this much needed partnership with these bright, capable and outgoing young men at Log Cabin.