Success Stories

We are very proud of our courageous, resilient and graceful children and invite you to read some of their success stories below. It is not possible to share all the stories – thousands to date –these stories are based on actual cases from our campuses and demonstrate the incredible impact achieved every day as we work to break the vicious cycle of child abuse. Together, all the campuses of St. Jude’s Ranch for Children provide a broad array of therapeutic services built upon love, respect and dignity. We provide opportunities that allow them to dream, dreams they never knew were possible.

In Their Own Words:

Xavier is one of our children at the Ranch. The following narration is about his summer camp experience:

My Summer Camp by Xavier
My summer began on June 13th with a trip to a football camp at the University of San Diego. Thanks to coach B., who asked me to take part in the camp during the school year. I expressed my interest in attending, and my Case Worker made the arrangements, along with St. Jude’s Ranch and Gary Graves; all of my financial needs were provided due to their efforts.

Down in San Diego, we lived in the dorms with roommates. Our days were spent learning and improving our skills in football; we watched films and studied drills of various teams. Afterwards, we played against other teams. Sometimes, the Head coach of the University actually coached us. We were pushed hard to play as a team player. I enjoyed listening to all of the coaches; I leaned to keep my head in the game. I also learned to control my emotions after the football game is played.

Right after my return from San Diego, I went to Duke University for basketball camp; thanks again due to the efforts and support that I received.

At basketball camp, we had a full schedule. We played a lot of scrimmages. We met Coach K. personally and viewed films of basketball plays. We were the only kids on the entire campus allowed to go back in the movie room. We had a chance to watch their team practice; I learned a lot from them. I learned how to enhance my skills and become a better basketball player mentally. In our free time, we walked around campus and into the stores. I enjoy being with my friends at Boulder High.