Ranchers from throughout Texas and other states have long been friends of South Texas Children’s Home Ministries (STCHM), especially those who are affiliated with Beefmaster Breeders United (BBU).

At the Live Oak Beefmaster Sale in Three Rivers on Jan. 9, ranchers came to bid on more than just cattle. Two pieces of artwork were auctioned off to benefit the Children’s Home, with proceeds totaling almost $6,500. Once again this year, Beefmaster breeder Ted Cain from Mississippi came up as the top bidder, capturing both pieces of art.

“One of the pieces of art was a framed 11x14 print of our 2009 Christmas card design,” said Gary Jones, vice president-land use and development at STCHM. “Our Christmas card is created by one of our students each year and every January, BBU is eager to auction the print to benefit our kids.”

The second piece of art was a large painting of a Mayan girl painted by artist Felisa Saldivar of Roma. Saldivar donated her painting to help both STCHM and another children’s home in the Valley.

South Texas Children’s Home Ministries also participated in the Live Oak Sale as a breeder and seller of Beefmaster cattle.

“From the home’s earliest days, gifts of cattle helped stock our donated land with cows to supply beef for each cottage of children on campus,” STCHM President and CEO Todd Roberson said. “Then, in the late 1970s, Dr. A.J. ‘Jack’ Green, who was STCHM president and CEO at the time, began to see the potential in actually raising cattle from donated stock to help sustain the home. Beefmaster breeder Robert Armstrong, who wanted to help the home in some way, decided to donate 33 Beefmaster cows and two bulls to the home to help us start a good registered herd of cattle.”

Armstrong’s gift marked the beginning of an exciting relationship between the Children’s Home, BBU and Beefmaster breeders across Texas. It led to STCHM’s first Kattle for Kids Beefmaster Sale on the Children’s Home campus in Beeville in 1980, which netted $225,000 to kick off a $2.5 million building fund drive. Four other successful Kattle for Kids sales took place on campus between 1986 and 1998 and today, STCHM sells cattle at auctions throughout South Texas.

Since 1985, Beefmaster friends have given more than $1.2 million in monetary gifts to the home, plus regular contributions of cattle, semen, feed, services and equipment. They have also established an endowment fund to help STCHM continue to meet the needs of hurting children and families.

“We all have resources to some degree that we can share to help bless others,” Jones said. “For some, that may be cash, time, material items or their services. And for some, it is their land or cattle.”

“We are so grateful to people like sales manager and auctioneer Anthony Mihalski, rancher Malcolm Evans and BBU’s Gene Kuykendall and Wendell Schronk, who have donated their services, expertise and even cattle to help STCHM become a first-class Beefmaster breeder,” Jones added. “Through their support and our own focused efforts, we have seen great herd improvement.”

South Texas Children’s Home Ministries is a multi-service organization offering general residential childcare at campuses in Beeville and Goliad, family counseling offices in Corpus Christi and Victoria, Christian Women’s Job Corps classes in Corpus Christi, and international/humanitarian aid in the Dominican Republic and other countries. It relies solely on the generosity of individuals, churches, businesses, foundations and other organizations for funding.