Timothy Hill Ranch helps troubled youth
find their way

The story

A resounding love can transform lives: That’s the idea behind Timothy Hill Ranch. With four locations across the U.S. and hundreds of volunteers carrying out its mission, this nonprofit seeks to provide troubled youth with a second chance.

It all started with a dream. Timothy Hill grew up in a home where compassion was unending and caring for others, no matter their circumstances, was a guiding principle in life. His father, Jerry Hill, was a minister, and his mother, Fern Hill, had a heart for service. As a family, they were constantly taking in kids who had to be removed from their homes or had nowhere to go, and Timothy Hill saw the transformative power of love firsthand.

Timothy Hill decided he wanted to create a ranch – a place with big, wide fields where people could ride horses and connect with nature – that would be home to troubled youth who needed a second chance. And he didn’t let the fact that he was only 13 years old hinder his goals. He started working a paper route to save money, and he immediately had his eye on some properties.

“Miss Fern … she would get phone calls from real estate agents, and they’d be really upset,” said Brandon Ip, marketing specialist and program graduate. “And they’d say, ‘Hey, tell your son to leave us alone,’ because at 12 or 13, he’s calling them and saying, ‘I want to buy land.’”

But in 1972, the Hill family experienced a devastating loss when Timothy Hill was struck by a car while riding his bike, resulting in his death. While managing their grief, the Hills knew they had his legacy to uphold, and they started creating what would become the first Timothy Hill Ranch location in Riverhead, New York.

Today, three out of the four locations serve as residential campuses for young men, and there are multiple ways in which they come to find themselves there. Some, like Ip, are sent to Timothy Hill Ranch by the courts; others may be new adults who have aged out of the foster care system and have nowhere else to go; and some are encouraged by their parents to go and clean up their act. Regardless of where these men got their start, the team at the ranch offers them a blank slate guided by forgiveness, love and the belief that people want to change for the better.

When they come to Timothy Hill Ranch, residents are often in for a bit of culture shock. They stick to a strict regimen designed to nurture their minds, bodies and souls. This includes daily workouts, devotionals, chores, recreational time and more. They can also participate in group and individual counseling, go out into the community to volunteer with local organizations and attend weekly financial literacy classes.

“So, we really have a philosophy that’s built around building young people physically, mentally, spiritually, socially,” Executive Director Thaddaeus “Thud” Hill said. “We really want them to be a well-rounded individual, which means you’ve got to have a lot of components.”

The team also focuses on preparing residents for the workforce so they can contribute to their communities and learn how to become self-sufficient. The Work Sharp™ program provides the resources the interns need to grow as individuals and build a strong framework for the rest of their lives.  

“We teach things like carpentry, landscaping, auto mechanics, culinary, animal husbandry, agricultural experiences and some hospitality, so they get a chance to have real-world work internship opportunities on our site,” Hill said. “So literally, from day one, every young person is expected to develop a work ethic.”

Among these work experiences, they harvest eggs, collect honey and grow fresh vegetables that they can cook and share with their fellow interns. This creates a sense of community around their hard work and allows them to experience, quite literally, the fruits of their labor. Once they’ve mastered the art of remaining diligent and professional at the ranch, they can go out into their communities and seek employment at local businesses, paving the way for career success.

“Honesty, respect, responsibility, character, leadership. They teach you a lot of skills that you can use on the outside when you leave the ranch,” said Matt Figueroa, a resident at Timothy Hill Ranch. “They make sure you’re prepared for the outside world when you go back, and they make sure you don’t come back here.”

In addition to providing residential services, some of the Timothy Hill Ranch locations serve as retreat centers where community members can relax in beautiful facilities that provide recreational opportunities and spiritual fellowship. Organizations can rent out these spaces to host summer camps, retreats and other events. Each year, the team also hosts Timothy Hill Christian Camp, a chance for youth with incarcerated parents and kids in the foster care system to participate in the traditional summer camp experience.

“Well, I think what it does is it allows us to support a lot of other good organizations and nonprofits, and it allows us to be a good community partner,” Hill said, “so we’re able to serve civic clubs and organizations and hospitals. And it’s been really neat to see the way that we’ve been able to build a bridge with people who need, sometimes, that two-day or three-day or one-week time away to kind of refocus on their mission and their goals. So, it’s really allowed us to help support a lot of other organizational missions that often have a lot of similarity and overlap.”

Community impact

In their service to others, the team at Timothy Hill Ranch sees their efforts to transform their communities multiply as residents become empowered to do good, too. The residents volunteer, creating a symbiotic experience in which the community gets much-needed help, and the young men can serve others and develop their work ethic. Additionally, several program graduates, like Ip, have rejoined the Timothy Hill family as full-time employees and help kids in similar situations.

When the team found out that Timothy Hill Ranch had been named an Insperity® Community Hero, they were surprised.

“We don’t do it for the accolades,” Ip said. “We don’t do this so we can get a pat on the back, but we do this for the love of the kids. We do this for the people that we serve. And regardless of accolades and any awards, we would be doing it.”

They plan to use the $5,000 donation to bolster their workforce development program. After all, according to Hill, when speaking about the nonprofit’s relationship with Insperity, “as an employment partner of ours, it feels like the best use of that support is for the ongoing vocational support for our youth.”

This essential work will continue as the Timothy Hill Ranch team looks to the future. They are considering an expansion to a fifth location, bringing their much-needed services to another community. They also plan on expanding their existing properties, having just acquired an additional 50 acres in Arkansas.

No matter what the future holds, Timothy Hill Ranch will continue its tradition of transforming lives through unconditional love, and Insperity is proud to provide the HR solutions that empower the team and help them fulfill their mission. 

“There should be indicators in the way that hospitality is being demonstrated, that either shows love or not,” Hill said, “and if our vision is to transform lives through love, then that love has to be a tangible display every single day with every single person that comes on this campus.”