Not long ago, Tony Atkins, director of Turnaround Ranch, was in Jefferson City for some meetings when a familiar voice called out his name.

The voice belong to a young woman who some years earlier had been a client at the Turnaround Ranch. The young woman was in Jefferson City to give a speech. She had gone into social work. She had, in effect, turned her life around. It was a chance meeting that had Tony on cloud nine for quite a while.

See, that’s what the Turnaround Ranch does. It, as Ozark Center CEO Paula Baker says, “Gives kid a chance.”

Under the direction of the Ozark Center, Turnaround Ranch has been working to give kids a chance since 1981. Most of the kids who come to the ranch are victims of some sort of physical, sexual, emotional abuse or neglect. In any given year, about 70 to 75 kids will pass through Turnaround Ranch. The average stay for the kids is six to nine months; although some kids, depending on their situation, may stay longer. While at the ranch, the children — who range in age from 10 to nearly 18 — attend school and take part in extensive therapy. The program is designed to bring structure to the lives of teenagers who likely have never had much structure.

On Wednesday, I spent part of the afternoon talking to some Carl Junction High School kids who will soon take part in the Destination Imagination Global Finals in Knoxville, Tenn. I knew the parents of some of the kids so I knew that, for the most part, the kids had been dealt a pretty good hand, life-wise. On Thursday, I spent part of the morning talking to Paula and Tony about the kids at the Turnaround Ranch. Most of the kids there weren’t as fortunate. The goal of the dedicated staff at Turnaround Ranch, I figured, is to try and reshuffle the deck and deal those kids a better hand, which is a pretty noble goal.

Jerrod Hogan is a member of the 2008 Leadership Joplin Class. Jerrod, who was also at the ranch on Thursday morning, says the 37 members of the class, which is sponsored by the Joplin Area Chamber of Commerce, picked Turnaround Ranch as the recipient of their fund-raising project. Each year, the leadership group is asked to select a not-for-profit group to raise funds for.

Jerrod told me that his class split up into six groups. Each group selected an organization, researched it and then made a presentation to try and convince the entire class to select their origination. Once the presentations had been made, the class voted for organization they deemed most deserving. Thirty-five out of 37 class members voted for Turnaround Ranch.

“That’s how strongly we believe in what they are doing out here,” Jerrod said.

The Leadership Joplin class put together a two-step plan to benefit Turnaround Ranch. The first thing the class members did was schedule two work days at the ranch. On two Saturdays in a row the leadership folks showed up early and painted two entire dormitories. The chamber class provided all the materials, supplies and, of course, the labor.

Paula said as much as she appreciated the efforts of Jerrod and his fellow l classmates, she thinks the most important thing they did was to interact with the kids at the ranch while they worked.

“The were role models for the kids,” Paula said.

See, some of the kids there don’t see much in the way of positive role models.

The second step of the group’s fund-raising effort is a little more ambitious.

This Tuesday evening, the Leadership Joplin class, along with some major help from the people at the Route 66 Carousel Park, 3500 W. Seventh St., is sponsoring a Go-Kart Stampede at the Carousel Park. Each of the 37 class members, who will take part in the race, have been out selling sponsorships and tickets to the stampede. The goal is to raise $25,000 that will go toward several much-needed renovations at Turnaround Ranch.