By Naomi Hatch Ron and Taylor Hatch, Eagledancer Youth and Family Services (EYFS) has purchased a new score board for the Snowflake Junior High School football field, and was acknowledged for the generous contribution at the Feb. 12 meeting of the Snowflake Unified School District Governing Board meeting. Superintendent Hollis Merrell said that the old scoreboard was in need of repair, but it was so old they couldn’t find parts. EYFS also donated $2,000 for scholarships to the district’s Native American program. Sherida Nez was on hand to thank EYSF officials for the donation that will provide college scholarships for Native American students. Eagledancer is a licensed child welfare agency founded to help Native American at risk youth and families. The Hatches are Native American, and have more than 30 years’ experience working with troubled youth. Ron Hatch shared his story, telling the board that his alcoholic parents would leave their children in the car, at home or with other people while they went drinking. Sometimes the children would end up in shelter homes because their parents hadn’t come back to get them. By the time Ron was 3, his dad had left the family. The court stepped in and took all the children, putting Ron in an orphanage with his two brothers. He went through some terrible experiences for many years. He caused so much trouble that by the time he was 14, he thought he would be going to prison. Instead they took him to another foster home, which changed his life completely. The family belonged to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and was kind and took good care of him. He began listening to what they taught and got his life straightened out. “The family helped me to bring God into my life. This and the unconditional love that this family had for me made all the difference,” note’s Ron’s biography on the EYFS website. Ron graduated from high school and eventually served as Indian Education director in the Mt. Diablo School District in California. He is married now and has 12 children, and has adopted three more. Ron and his wife Charla have shared their home with more than 250 foster youth over the course of 40 years. “We ran 1,000 kids through our program,” he said. “I’m actually retired now, and my greatest joy is standing beside me,” he said of his son Taylor, who is executive director of EYFS. Taylor graduated with a bachelor’s degree from University of Utah, went on to get his master’s at the University of Southern California, and will work on his social worker license and then on his doctorate. “Me, I barely made it through high school,” said Ron. “I did have a lot of determination to do this work, so on behalf of my wife and our center, I thank the school district for continued support.” Taylor said that they have approximately 30 kids in the community. You can learn more about Eagledancer Youth and Family Services online at www.eagledancer.net.