Many of you know that I have been working on one of the major fundraising events of the year for Our House Carpenters Way, and its hectic to say the least... details of the program, special guests, centerpieces, sponsors, menu, etc. can get really stressful. Yesterday afternoon, I was sifting through a box of newspaper articles, photo albums, letters, floorplans, and so on as I was working on a video about the history of Columbus For Kids, Carpenters Way & Our House. The box had been in the back of a closet and we found it with the help of guidance from Suzy Beatty Revell! I had only heard about the articles, and briefly about the stories but I sat in my office and took the time to read through them. Every last one. And I cried. A lot. One childs Christmas Wish was a home to call his own. He was a Muscogee Co. foster child, age 9 in Dec 2000 when the article was written. I wonder where he is today. The next article was titled, Finding a child a place to sleep. Woah. Stories of single foster mothers who got off work at 7:30 at night or later before picking up a new child at the DFACS office that has been there all day, and not yet able to be enrolled in school. Sub headings like, Last Resorts and statistics like 1671 children in Muscogee Co were involved in investigations of child abuse in 2000 and 63% of those were under the age of 10. Sobering to say the least.... But I can tell you that there is hope! Last night shortly after reading those articles, I headed downstairs from my office to leave for the day and saw some of our boys. My office is upstairs in one of our group homes. Not ideal office space, but man, do I love seeing those kids every afternoon! One of the boys was having a rough afternoon and was pretty upset. I hurt for him, his general teenage angst, frustration, and awkwardness, and then for all the crap that had been heaped upon him unfairly as a child, at a very young age and my heart really hurt for him. The other boys were eager to show me report cards. At least two had all As & Bs! Wow! Thats a HUGE accomplishment! One of our kids had one C. I told him that was ok, the next nine weeks hed bring it up. I told him that I knew he had the smarts and I believed in him. He beamed, and so did I. Later that evening, at Wednesday Night Supper, I went out to act as a chaperone for our Youth. Those boys I saw earlier at work, attend the same church I do. They were out there running around playing ultimate frisbee, laughing, getting along just like the other kids, smiling, and being competitive and I started to cry again! Those are my boys! I was so proud of them for just being there and having a great time! I have to tell you that I love these kids. Really, truly love them. Each and every one. I have a little joke I tell when Im speaking to groups. I talk about being an Interior Designer and how I came to be a development director and I laugh and say, Im ruined! Ill never have a real job again! And its so true. This isnt just a job, a career, or a profession. The work were doing impacts lives. You cant help but become a part of the family that works together to care for these kids. We have a staff member that has been with us for over 10 years. That is over 1000 kids that have come through our doors. Guess what... She flipped through those photo albums and named every kid she saw. Every one. Im blessed to be a part of a ministry that cares for kids. My co-workers are part of a ministry to children that changes lives. We keep kids safe, protect them, love them, and build them up. This is the stuff that matters yall.
Posted on: Fri, 18 Oct 2013 03:09:40 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015