At Dakota Boys and Girls Ranch, we work very hard, in Christ's name, to help the kids who come to the Ranch to find their best selves. I believe the dedicated staff who work with our kids bring their own best selves and their unique talents to this place. By sharing their talents and passions, they set examples for the children. They show us how we can each be our true selves and make an impact in the world.…
Blog
By making a gift to the Ranch or your favorite charity, you can pay less in taxes, avoid capital gains tax, and direct your treasures to where you want them to go.…
While everyone should talk to an attorney about a formal plan, you can pass on some of your assets outside of a will. To make sure your loved ones are cared for after you are gone, you can...…
An IRA Rollover is a simple and easy way to provide hope and healing for the troubled, complicated, and amazing kids at Dakota Boys and Girls Ranch.…
In his book, “30 Lessons for Living: Tried and True Advice from the Wisest Americans,” Karl Pillemer interviewed more than 1,200 people, most ages 70 and up, and said most saw transmitting their values and core principles as their most important legacy. Our heirs prefer shared values over material items too.…
It's hard to think about dying. I do know I will eventually die—we all will. But knowing that doesn't make it easier to think about. If we are hesitant to even think about our death, it makes sense that we also put off the planning that goes along with it. I recently stumbled on a little book titled, "The Gentle Art of Swedish Death Cleaning," by Margareta Magnuson. Margareta's words turned my thoughts towards the responsibilities I have to get my affairs in order so my death is easier on my loved on—at least regarding the distribution of my belongings and assets. Her words even helped me find a measure of delight in the process. Really.…
On September 25, the students on the Ranch's Dakota Memorial School campuses gathered around the flagpole for the annual See You At The Pole event. This is a gathering and encouragement of our nation's schools and leadership through prayer. The idea is that before school, all across our country, students and faculty meet around their flagpoles for a few moments of prayer.…
NYPUM (National Youth Program Using Minibikes), a nationwide network of nearly 50 programs sponsored by the National Honda Motor Company, is an innovative way to engage at-risk youth. NYPUM positively affects kids' social, emotional, and psychological development.…
That is what we are here to do..."To help at-risk kids and their families succeed in the name of Christ." And, when we see that mission fulfilled in even one child, we are energized for the next and the next. We continue the "well-doing," and we never grow weary of seeing the beauty of a child becoming their best self.…
The Elmer & Kaya Berg Foundation awarded $1,000 to Dakota Boys and Girls Ranch to continue providing therapeutic residential and educational services to youth and families at its Fargo campus.…
Verendrye Electric Cooperative awarded $2,500 to Dakota Boys and Girls Ranch, Minot, to purchase recliners for one of the children’s cottages.…
When I visit with people who work at Dakota Boys and Girls Ranch with me, I am always heartened to find that Ranchers know, regardless of their role, that they too can make a difference in the lives of the kids we serve. One person can make a tremendous impact on a child's life...but we never know which person and which moment might make the connection that changes everything. We are all in this together!…
Dakota Family Services recently hired Lucas Mitzel to provide outpatient therapy in Fargo. Mitzel, a Licensed Master Social Worker, will provide behavioral health therapy for children, adolescents, and adults ages 5-30.…
Dakota Boys and Girls Ranch recently hired Jesse Lamm as a therapist in its Fargo Psychiatric Residential Treatment Program.…
When I was growing up, Dorothy Law Nolte's poem, Children Learn What They Live, was everywhere. It was first published in 1954 and exploded into popular culture where it stayed through the 1970s. When I was little, it was hanging on refrigerators, on posters in doctors' offices, in classrooms. The poem was even plastered on milk cartons and cereal boxes.…
The Ranch will soon be buzzing with the bottling of sweet alfalfa and clover honey. While we no longer own bees, and our kids don't gather the honey from the hives like they used to (our children in Minot are given the opportunity to help bottle it), honey continues to be a time-honored Ranch tradition. We invite churches and other organizations to hold Honey Sundays in the fall, and at the end of the year, send an 11-ounce bottle of honey to everyone who has given $10 or more throughout the year.…
We had a young lady at the Ranch who really touched my heart. Whenever she would see me, she would yell, "Joy," and then scurry up to wherever I was. She'd give me a side hug and beam from ear to ear. Over time, I made it my mission to teach her to shake hands firmly, with eye contact. She was an excellent learner!…
Christ is at the center of all our work at Dakota Boys and Girls Ranch. God is our hero. To stay grounded in our work, Chaplain Rick Jones sends out a Ranch daily devotional email. All of the devotions are potent, and every once in a while, one makes me stop in my tracks.…
Last week, Jonathan Swenson (traveling actor, speaker, vocalist, and ordained minister) performed the show "Witnesses," by Curt Cloninger, for kids and staff at all three Ranch campuses in Minot, Bismarck, and Fargo.…
Being a teenager is tough. You're not a kid. You're not an adult. Much is expected of you, but you don't have a road map. Your body is changing. Your thoughts are changing. Nothing seems to stay in place.…
It is almost impossible to overstate the caliber of people I have the honor of working alongside. The level of compassion and decency they bring, meeting each child in the midst of their pain, is inspiring. One of those remarkable people is Gladys Skinner, who is a Residential Supervisor in Challenge Cottage, a Residential Child Caring Facility for girls 12-18 years old. Gladys has been at the Ranch for over four years and she simply exudes, "I got this," in her daily work.…
Teachers at Dakota Memorial School work hard to create trauma-sensitive classrooms that serve as safe spaces for kids at the Ranch to learn, grow, and find success.…
Walmart—Minot granted $2,000 to Dakota Boys and Girls Ranch, through the Community Grant Program. The funds received will be used to purchase new windows for the cottages on the Minot campus, replacing the windows that are original to the cottages.…
Last week, staff at Dakota Family Services and Dakota Boys and Girls Ranch had the chance to learn from Dr. Wayne Martinsen, MD, MSW, Medical Director at the Ranch, who traveled to all three campuses to present “The Harmony and Health of Happiness.”…
Recently, the reading in church was from Luke’s gospel where Jesus shared the parable of the Good Samaritan. When I reflect on this lesson, I think about how I can be a better neighbor to those around me. I think about times I could have let someone go ahead of me in line, stopped to listen, offered encouragement to someone, or engaged in conversation with the grocery store clerk or the person bagging my purchases. This time, I stopped to think about the definition of the neighbor referenced as "the one" in the phrase, “The one who had mercy on him."…