The Otter Tail Corporation Foundation awarded $2,567 to Dakota Boys and Girls Ranch, Fargo, to replace the appliances at the Fargo Youth Home.
Children at the Fargo Youth Home often come from unstable, even harmful environments, that trigger damaging behaviors and emotions. Healing can only begin for a boy or girl when they are in an environment that communicates safety while consistently meeting their most basic needs for food, shelter, safety, etc. Oftentimes, when children come to the Ranch, they haven’t been taught good nutrition or self-care habits—so they learn those things while at the Ranch.
The Ranch creates a Fargo Youth Home environment that is as home-like as possible, providing comfy furniture, cozy furnishings, and opportunities for kids to cook and do laundry. Teaching independent living skills helps ease the transition to adulthood, making the residents more likely to succeed on their own and less likely to experience homelessness and unemployment.
The Otter Tail Corporation Foundation’s gift will give kids access to a working kitchen, an important part of healing for kids at the Ranch, as they partake in “normal” life experiences and develop independent living skills that prepare them for their futures.
Dakota Boys and Girls Ranch is a Christ-centered residential treatment and education center for children and their families. The Ranch helps the most troubled, complicated, and amazing kids by providing best-in-class psychiatric therapy and trauma-informed care, where staff look kids in the eye, walk with them, and help them become their best selves. In addition to Residential Treatment Facilities in Fargo, Bismarck, and Minot, the Ranch provides Outpatient Psychiatric and Psychological Services, and Spiritual Life Programs. The Ranch’s on-campus school, Dakota Memorial School (DMS), provides a personalized education for kids who have psychiatric, behavioral, and trauma issues.
The mission of the Otter Tail Corporation Foundation is to connect with their communities to support young minds, invest in the current and future workforce, create vibrant culture and vital communities, improve health and human services, and protect natural resources. They focus resources on the communities where they work and live. Funds are allocated for innovative projects and programs that create measurable impacts in the areas of education; health and human services; community, civic, and cultural development; and the environment.