Stories of Hope

Oftentimes, hearing or reading the stories of the lives of the children who come to Dakota Boys and Girls Ranch is jarring. They are carrying so much on their shoulders and in their souls. They have developed ways to cope…

On October 14, Dakota Boys and Girls Ranch will observe National Stop Bullying Day. Actually, we will focus on a stop bullying message all week. We will talk a lot about how our behavior affects others and the impact of…

Hudson Weeks, a well-spoken, confident, and charming young man, is a far cry from the uncertain, angry teen who entered care at Dakota Boys and Girls Ranch. At just 14 years old, Hudson was skipping school and had missed nearly…

Charles Volek is a soft-spoken, lifelong Texan. He doesn’t recall exactly how he heard about Dakota Boys and Girls Ranch when he and his wife, Judy, who passed away in 2022, started supporting the Ranch many years ago. But he…

Marion and her husband never imagined being the primary guardians of their great-grandchildren. “I really didn’t want to take them, but now I know that it was one of the most wonderful gifts I’ve ever been given,” Marion said. Brylan…

“When I visited Pastor Robert and Marji Gentet in their Windcrest, TX, home, I didn’t even have time to say, ‘Would you like me to take my shoes off?’ before Marji basically dragged me to the dining room table to…

It’s called “sabotaging.” And, until you understand it, it can be a very discouraging part of working at Dakota Boys and Girls Ranch. Today, a 15-year-old boy named Ryder returned from the hospital to the Ranch. Staff took him in yesterday…

Joley wants to die. Every day she wakes up wanting to die and goes to bed wanting to die. She has taken pills, run out into traffic, swallowed pieces of glass and metal, and banged her head until it was…

“Hey Joy,” Etta called from down the hallway where she was working with a therapy dog, “Your fit slays.” She’s 15. Every generation creates its own fashion sense… and its own slang. “Cat’s meow” and flapper dresses in the 1920s….

Dalinda called Dakota Boys and Girls Ranch when she didn’t know what else to do. “A lot of things have happened to our granddaughter, Cassie,” Dalinda said. “She never told me about some of them, like being molested when she…

Thomas is a taller-than-average 17-year-old with brown hair you rarely see because it is hidden under a baseball cap. He is friendly, calm, and a devoted Philadelphia Eagles fan. He is easy to like and has befriended nearly everyone on…

Cliff and Marilyn Kraft have lived their entire lives with their faces turned towards Christ and their hands and feet working for Him. The Ranch mission captured Cliff and Marilyn’s hearts when they learned about the ministry through a speaker…

“I’ve been having conversations with God since I was six or seven years old. Regardless of what was going on in my life, I had almost daily conversations. I was so rebellious, yet God was never far from me.” —Ora…

Hannah Keller, a Correctional Officer at the Southwest Multi-County Correction Center in Dickinson, ND, is a much different person than the angry 13-year-old who arrived at the Ranch 11 years ago. “I had a lot of aggression that I had…

When I came to Dakota Boys and Girls Ranch over eleven years ago, I attended a new employee training conducted by a seasoned Ranch staffer. She told us new folks, “This is hard work. You can’t do it alone. You…

Faith’s parents divorced when she was young, and her stepfather, the man she called “Dad,” died of a heart attack when she was 10 years old. As she and her mom both grieved, their relationship deteriorated. “Me and my mom…

Dottie and Jackie Nelson’s generational link to Dakota Boys and Girls Ranch begins with Ervin Schumacher, Dottie’s father and Jackie’s grandfather. “Dakota Boys and Girls Ranch is like family,” Dottie said. “It’s just in the blood. My dad wrote his…

Roger and Sandy Ploeger, West Des Moines, IA, are both retired from paid work, but they haven’t stopped using their talents for good. In addition to their ongoing support of Dakota Boys and Girls Ranch, they volunteer for several charities…

Sitting down with Fred and Jean Baue is like attending a marriage retreat. They laugh together. They listen to each other. And their respect and love for each other come through loud and clear in their words and actions. Fred…

Although he humbly attributes most of his accomplishments to persistence rather than brainpower, Dr. Jim Knutson is a soft-spoken, kind man, with a big brain. After growing up in Minot, ND, Jim earned a bachelor’s degree in psychology from the…

Forty-eight years after his stay at Dakota Boys and Girls Ranch, Mark French still recalls the lessons he learned and the people who impacted him. “I was at a fork in the road,” Mark said. “What I learned at the…

Concerned about children leaving the Ranch without follow-up care and a lack of community services to prevent children from needing residential treatment, Dakota Boys and Girls Ranch founded Dakota Family Services (DFS) in 2005. It has evolved over the years,…

Every business has to pay attention to finances, even nonprofits like Dakota Boys and Girls Ranch. While for-profit companies aim to generate returns for shareholders, our responsibility is to steward every dollar for the benefit of the people we serve and…

Children who experience trauma, which includes every child at the Ranch, are constantly in a state of hypervigilance. Their world has not been trustworthy or predictable. Most haven’t had adult role models who are consistent and dependable. They don’t know if…