Aaron's story has led him all over, but he believes he wouldn't have found success without the intervention of Dakota Boys and Girls Ranch. The Ranch changed the trajectory of his life.…
Kid Stories
Coming to the Ranch gave Mannie a chance to heal from his past hurts and find love and acceptance with a new family.…
When you meet Emily today, the first things you'll notice are her wonderful smile and contagious laugh. A very different young woman than the one who walked into Dakota Boys and Girls Ranch—who at that time didn't crack a smile, speak, or look up from the ground.…
Aliyah Beyer didn't need help. Yes, severe anxiety and depression made her life hard. So hard she couldn't get out of bed some days. But still—she could handle it on her own. She was used to taking care of things herself. And she was used to being alone, despite growing up in an adoptive family with ten children. For as long as she can remember, Aliyah has wanted nothing more than to fit in and belong.…
A few weeks ago, I was at my desk when I heard a familiar voice in the lobby. "Look! I'm being adopted!" As I came around the corner to confirm my suspicions, a handsome boy came running at me with arms outstretched for a hug. "Joy, did you hear? I'm being adopted!"…
Elizabeth Muralt is on a mission. Her mission is to share her story with children in the foster care system and to advocate for policy change that helps foster care youth live more normal lives. "I want kids in foster care to know they can be successful despite their circumstances. That they can turn negative experiences into positive ones," Elizabeth said. "I couldn't imagine a successful future because I had never seen a successful person who grew up in the foster care system. I didn't know success was attainable for me."…
Last summer, three Ranch residents, Courtney, Sierra, and Megan, traveled to Medora with Amber Benham, Horse Program Coordinator, to hike and look for wild horses. The idea for the trip started when the girls were at the horse barn, talking about how they'd love to see wild horses. Amber told them about the wild horses in Medora, and when she learned none of them had been there, she planned the trip. The special outing celebrated the progress the three girls had made at the Ranch, rewarded them for work they did around the horse barn over the summer, and served as a last hurrah for Courtney, who was discharging at the end of the week.…
Empathy, "the ability to understand and share the feelings of another," is hard. It is truly difficult to stand in another person's shoes and see life from their perspective. We all spend most of our time seeing the world from our own vantage point. It is even harder for Ranch kids.…
Five young women from Dakota Boys and Girls Ranch attended DigiGirlz, a high-tech camp hosted by Microsoft that gives middle and high school girls an in-depth look at careers in technology.…
Last week we celebrated Thanksgiving AND it was also National Family Week! Boy, those two go together perfectly don't they? Family is the basic unit of any society. The people who accept us, support us, challenge us, and love us unconditionally are the people who shape our view of the world. Whether by birth or by choice, those we call family create the context in which we live our lives.…
I have a glass bottle in my office that was a gift from a treasured friend. Written on the brown glass is "take a moment to acknowledge something you are grateful for." I also have a little stack of paper slips. Whenever someone asks me about the bottle, I encourage them to write down something they are thankful for and push the paper through the narrow neck of the bottle to "join" the other notes of gratitude. The simple act of stopping to think about the gifts we have been given can brighten a whole day.…
The GROW (God Rewards Our Work) Garden Sale began this year and is already proving to be a success. A spinoff of the event previously known as BLT Day, GROW was organized and implemented by Ranch kids. The idea was to hold a one-day garden sale in the Minot Thrift Store parking lot—selling plants and items grown or created by the kids.…
Horses are highly sensitive and have a unique ability to read human emotions. Sometimes they provide comfort to a child who is anxious or depressed. Other times they mirror the child's emotions by backing away or becoming skittish if the child is feeling anxious or angry. This cues the child to identify their emotions, and to discover what they might be doing to make the horse feel unsafe.…
Kids at Dakota Boys and Girls Ranch are making music—they are learning how to play the ukulele! The ukuleles at the Fargo campus are being lent to use by Grace Lutheran School, and the Minot ukuleles were donated by a couple that goes above and beyond for our kids. With their generosity and a special discount from the ukulele company, Deaconess Kelly Jacob's dream of teaching the kids to play the ukulele became possible.…
One of the most important things children discover in their time at Dakota Boys and Girls Ranch is their "voice." Most of our trauma-affected kids have been told what they are, what they think, why they are failures, and why they will always be failures. Through hard work, determination, and a commitment to their treatment and education, they begin to discover their strengths. They begin to tell their own true stories, in their own voice.…
When it comes to overcoming challenges, Helen Keller (1880-1968) set the bar quite high. She was a lifelong learner, teacher, inspiration. She danced, laughed, wrote, and loved. She was deaf, blind, and had great difficulty speaking. And, she changed the world and the way we view the potential of those with special needs. Her teacher and best friend, Anne Sullivan, who was herself blind and parentless, instilled a sense of hope in the young Helen. Anne had a persistent hope that guided Helen into her future.…
All of us at Dakota Boys and Girls Ranch are humbled and grateful each day. First, by the opportunity to serve the Lord by serving others. Second, that the “others” we serve are precious children on a journey of hope and healing to become their best selves. Third, that so many people, like you, support our work. The attitude of gratitude we carry into each day is more than a clever rhyme, it is a worldview based on the honor we feel. We try to find every way possible to share our thankfulness with everyone.…
A few weeks ago I was going through our cafeteria line for lunch on campus when there was a commotion at the other end of the dining center. Something had agitated one of our children, a young boy, and he threw his lunch tray on the floor. It hit with such force that the unbreakable plastic dish shattered and, of course, milk flew everywhere. Staff quickly helped the young man leave the environment and helped him use some of his coping and calming skills. In a few minutes, he was able to re-set his emotions and finish lunch.…
I truly love the Ranch kids. They surprise me every day with their courage, resilience, desire to be their best selves. This morning as I walked through the dining room at breakfast time, several of the girls stopped me to teach them how to do the Star Trek “live long and prosper” sign with my hands. Much giggling and goofing later, we settled for them making the peace sign. For many of the children, their journey also includes their first real consideration of God and His role in their healing. Tara, whose story follows, was a child who opened her heart to the work of treatment and the word of the Lord. These children are remarkable.…
Summer means a change of pace and new challenges for Dakota Boys and Girls Ranch kids. They look forward to summer! And why not? It’s a time for hands-on learning, fun outings, swimming, and lots more. For kids who have endured dark days of failure in school and difficulty at home, summer is a chance to “catch up” on the activities most of us take for granted.…
Easter is a great time — maybe the best time — to focus on faith. We use this special season to help get the children thinking about Jesus, His triumph over sin and death, and what that means to them.…
Christian music group DPB came to the Ranch to put on a concert for our kids recently. But one of our girls, Alicia, didn't want to go to the concert.…
It wasn't until she came to the Ranch that 15-year-old Tara really realized how badly her life got sidetracked. "There was a lot of stress," she says. "I wanted to get out of the house. I did drugs and tried running away. And I had friends who were bad influences. They weren't good friends."…
On the outside, Haysel looked like she had it all together. Inside, however, Haysel was suffering from severe emotional pain caused by depression and anxiety.…
When Steven*, a former resident at the Ranch, was planning his wedding, he contacted Pastor Rick Jones to see if he could be married in the Chapel on the Minot Dakota Boys and Girls Ranch campus.…