After considering thirty different pieces of property for the site of the first Ryan's Ranch, Corinne finally settled on the Abston Family property located at Starlanding and Baldwin Roads in Lake Cormorant Mississippi. She hadn't even looked at the property but knew it was the place. How did she know? "Well, as a fundraiser for us my neighbor and good friend, Shari Baldinger began creating apparel with inspirational words like ‘hope' ‘faith' ‘believe' and each word with a definition. Our word and definition was ‘hope' as long as stars shine in the sky. The tag on the ‘hope' shirt said ‘Ryan's Ranch a place where no form of humanity is without hope.' When I heard the property was located on Starlanding Road, I knew it was the place." Her Board was skeptical at first as was several supporters. But she stuck to her guns and almost two years after meeting the Abston Family for the first time, the land is now theirs.

After an intense two year stint of planning, on October 7, 2009 @ 9:15 am at the Board of Supervisors Meeting for DeSoto County, a request to change zoning for the purpose of creating a state of the art world class destination that promotes respite, recreation, and rehabilitation for families with children who face challenges of developmental disabilities on the corner of Baldwin Road and Starlanding Road, passed @ 10:15 am by a unanimous vote. Ryan's Ranch @ Dunbar Hills will be the first of its kind. Once the prototype is finished and the doors are open, it will already be too small according to the feasibility study done by the Kemmons Wilson School of Hospitality and Resort Management and the University of Memphis. The need is so great that several other locations are already being considered.

"Even though this is a daunting task, the lack of this kind of retreat is even more daunting," says Corinne Derenburger, the mom who started the endeavor. "With the divorce rate being as high as 95% among families like hers and with the abuse and neglect of these children being the highest reported among all populations, it's imperative we begin the preventive maintenance needed to ensure these families stay together and have a quality life." The goal is to create a haven that is universally designed so that accessibility, ease of movement, and accommodations for these families and their children are so ‘normal' here that they become a way of life on the Ranch. Here they will feel welcomed, loved, and accepted without having to adjust their lifestyle to the surroundings. Instead, Ryan's Ranch will be adjusted to fit their lives.

Complete with sensory rooms, minor med area, family dining area, community rooms, equestrian center, family resource area, water spray -park, universally accessible play area, amphitheater, and lakes designed by Bill Dance Signature Lakes are on the plan. The Ranch will offer at least forty-five different therapies, most of which are covered by major insurances. Family counseling, education, and coaching services will also be available. For families needing extra hands on assistance, "stable hands" a volunteer program offering extra set of hands to help with the disabled loved one will be on site.

Ryan's Ranch International, formerly known as Ryan's Hope for Family & Friends, was started as a legacy of unconditional love and hope in honor of Corinne's son, Ryan who was born with extreme disabilities. He also received a terminal diagnosis and was not expected to live past 2003. That's when Corinne decided to start RRI as a support group out of her home church, Christ the Rock in Memphis. It quickly grew into a life changing, community building, and award winning organization it is today. Just shy of six years old, the 501c3 nonprofit charity has quickly become a statewide charity establishing a branch in Nashville this year and now investing millions in the greater Memphis Metropolitan area in DeSoto County Mississippi. Undergoing a complete branding overhaul earlier this year, including new name, new brand, new website, Ryan's Ranch International is now ready to launch their signature endeavor...Ryan's Ranch. Once Ryan's Ranch is built, it will target the five states of Louisiana, Tennessee, Arkansas, Mississippi, and Alabama.

With or without Corinne Derenburger, the organization's founder, the Governing Board has committed that the Ranch will be built. This summer, it was discovered that Corinne has a life threatening blood disease that affects the function of her liver and is currently undergoing treatment. It is suspected that it was undiagnosed for about twenty years.

"She's already living miracle and a fighter, if anyone can beat this, Corinne can," says Fleet Abston, Co-Chair of the RRI Board and a member of the family who gifted the land. Already overcoming three strokes and surviving cancer; twice, Corinne is definitely a fighter.

With over $45 million in capital to raise and plans to complete, the real work has just begun. But with God on their side the impossible shall be the possible. Ryan's Ranch came as a dream one night and after years of research; Corinne realized that this dream place was yet to be created. Thus the journey began. The extraordinary team that she has been assembling along the way is incredible! "I am learning to let God bring the right people instead of going after those who people think I should pursue. Noah's Ark was built by amateurs and the Titanic by professionals. There's a lesson in that."

"This is a nationwide fundraising call, the money won't all be raised locally but we believe wholeheartedly it can be done," says Fleet and the Board of Directors for RRI.

"This has been an uphill battle all the way but I wouldn't trade the friendships, experience, and knowledge that I've gained during the past six years for anything!" Corinne said. More information can be found on www.ryansranch.org or by calling 901-861-7039. To send a donation of support please mail to RRI PO Box 745 Collierville, TN 38027 or you may donate online via the website. For updates join us on Facebook and/ or follow us on twitter.

For immediate release: October 8, 2009
Contact: F. Norfleet Abston @ 901-550-0832 representative for Dunbar Hills, Ranch land gifter, & Co-Chair for Ryan's Ranch International (RRI)
Or Corinne Derenburger @ 901-603-7896 Founder, Ryan's Ranch International (RRI)