Imus Ranch

Facilities

The ranch consists of a village of eight buildings constructed to emulate an Old West town, including a general store, a "marshal's office", and a "saloon" (actually an infirmary where the young guests receive their medications at the saloon's "bar"). The main ranch house is a 14,000 sq ft (1,300 m²) adobe hacienda with Native American rugs and rustic chandeliers in the great room. It has five bedrooms for the ten children who attend each week in the summer, a library, and a dining hall serving only vegetarian meals. The design was largely under the direction of Deirdre Imus at a cost of construction placed at more than $25 million.

There are bunk houses for doctors, other medical staff and ranch hands. The Hackensack University Medical Center provides physicians, nurses, and guidance counselors who attend the ranch sessions.

Activities

For seven days, the children are expected to perform chores and tasks as if they were cowboys, such as caring for horses, in order to gain self-esteem. The ranch operates all year but hosts children only when school is not in session, in eight one-week sessions. Nearly half the children are from minority groups; 10% are black.

During a typical day, the children do chores beginning early in the morning, feeding the various ranch animals, watering plants, gathering eggs, and saddling horses for a two-hour ride led by the Imuses. Recreation includes swimming, board games, and pool. In a concession to the serious health needs of the campers, the ranch also has qualified personnel present to treat medical needs.

During the summer months, Imus broadcasts his nationally syndicated radio program, Imus in the Morning, from a studio at the ranch. Occasionally, children attending the ranch appear on the program along with his wife, Deirdre, and son, Wyatt.

History

Imus, who was raised on an Arizona ranch, became interested in helping children stricken with cancer after he participated in a New York radio telethon in 1988, raising money for a charity assisting such children. After his marriage to Deirdre Coleman in 1994, the couple decided to build a western ranch where cancer-stricken children could regain their self-esteem by engaging in authentic ranch work. Deirdre Imus said in an American Profile magazine interview, "After working with these kids, we noticed a common theme: they had cancer but they were like normal kids, except they lost their self-esteem. We found no one was actually restoring their self-esteem or dignity."

Initially, the Imuses used more than $1 million of their money to purchase 810 acres (3.3 km²) for the ranch in 1998. The ranch cost almost $25 million to construct, raised through a public foundation they established. The ranch now costs $1.8 million annually to operate.

Controversies

In March 2005, a Wall Street Journal reporter wrote an article critical of the ranch and the amount of money spent on each child. In 2006 the ranch spent $2.5 million on 90 children who stayed at ranch, or $28,000 per child. Accusations of accounting irregularities and personal use of the charity’s assets were investigated by both the Attorney General of New Mexico, Patricia Madrid, and the New York State Attorney General, Eliot Spitzer. No charges were filed in New Mexico. New York closed its investigation on March 24, 2005.

Closure

In his broadcast on September 9, 2014, Imus announced the discontinuation of the ranch program, after 16 years of operation, due to his "health and other issues". The property will be sold, he said, with proceeds from the sale going to a 501(c)(3) charitable foundation. In October 2014, the ranch was offered for sale, with an asking price of $32 million.