STURGEON LAKE - Dan Celentano has been helping boys learn how to be men for decades.
Now his focus is to help boys without fathers.
In the United States there are 10.4 million single mothers with children under the age of 18.
That's up seven million from 1970, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
For the past 20 years Dan Celentano has been taking New York teenagers out of the big apple, and putting them in the middle of the woods in Minnesota.
"They can't believe people are this friendly," said Celentano. "They always ask, you know, 'What do these people want? What do they want? They want something from me.' Nah, they want nothing, they're just being friendly."
For Dan, it's a life mission: helping young men turn hardship into success.
Dan opened "The Ranch Program" in Sturgeon Lake almost 20 years ago.
It's a place where at-risk teen boys have a chance to turn their lives around.
"This kid used to fight under the bridges to make money," said Dan, pointing to one of many pictures hanging on his living room wall.
In their schools and in their neighborhoods, these troubled boys were written off as lost causes.
But Dan says he knows how to help them.
Dan hopes the boys' experiences will stay with them when they go home.
"He will always remind me, you know, just remember what's important. You did it over here now, just keep on doing it over there," said Neftali Febo, one of The Ranch Program's participants.
Neftali's success is one of many from The Ranch.
"He was a kid that, just didn't wanna go to school," said Dan of Neftali. "He was tired of school. Inner-city has a lot of distractions and if you're not motivated you could easily get hooked up in a gang of whatever."
But at The Ranch, Neftali thrived.
"At first I thought it was basically all games but then I learned that there's a lot more to it," said Neftali. "Ultimately you also learn the decision is up to you. You have the decision to be successful or you have the decision to just call it quits and say I can't do it."
On the day of the mission, after two years of trainnig, Neftali decided not to call it quits.
"At the age of 14, flying a flight simulator or driving a school bus... it's like, I did that! I could do anything else I want as long as I put my heart into it," said Neftali.
Together with his teammates, Neftali finished the mission.
Now, five years later he is a New York City Police Officer.
"I actually remember back when I was like 14 and I was out there in Minnesota. I told him (Dan) that I wanted to be a cop and he told me, 'You get to be a cop and I'm gonna be over there at your graduation.' I never forgot that, because he played such an important role in motivating me and pushing me to finish everything," said Neftali.
Dan kept his promise and was in New York City earlier this month to watch his former student achieve his dream.
"Seeing those kids, they're like my kids," said Dan.
His life mission: helping boys become good men and making a difference one life at a time.
It is free for any 13 to 16 year old boy to participate in The Ranch Fatherless Boys Program.
Dan is also looking for men who are interested in mentoring fatherless boys.
For more information, visit The Ranch website at www.theranchny.com
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May Dugan Centerby secondstory1713 views
The most important thing I learn from this program was to never give up on whatever life throws at you...Like Dan use to tell us "When things get tough, you get tougher" and that my way of living now...and as well as the story with da bird, the choice is in our hands and we can only make the difference...Thank you Dan for everything :)
chiknit0 4 months ago
Congratulations on being such a wonderful influence on these young men. I'm concerned for todays youth. Men seem to be taking the back seat more often these days as women in the work force is now higher then men in the work force. Without men leading the way, I believe we will lose our moral background as well. Such as the father leading the home and the mother to guide them, etc... Fantastic mission! I'm an also a Minnesotan and there is much we can offer inner-city youth. Peace my friend
sheeerheaven63 1 year ago
This guy is awesome!
andytomu808 2 years ago