Keeping House & Homes
Decatur campus, 1970
After 45 years of wear and tear from hundreds of children literally coming through our doors, our Decatur homes are receiving some much-needed TLC in the form of new cabinets, countertops, and paint in our kitchen/dining areas!
The goal isn’t simply to “look nice” though. Of course, we want our children to be proud of their homes in every way possible, and these upgrades are one way of trying to do that. But in addition to our homes being places of comfort and warmth for our children, we want to invest in things that are functional and for any improvements we make to last a long time. With this current project, we are blessed to know we are getting all of the above.
Decatur administrative building
Our Regional Vice President for North Alabama, Michael Smith, shared, “Nine years ago when I came to the campus, I laid out a plan for getting some things done. It was in good shape, but needed more. Year-by-year, we’ve been working to check things off and improve the homes for our children.” So far, other improvements have been made and are continuing to be made to the roofs, heating and cooling units, and floors – all impacting our children’ experiences in positive ways.
And all this upkeep and care would not be possible without support from our church and business partners.
2015 UPDATES
Wellborn Cabinet Inc. of Ashland, Alabama, is a great friend of the Children’s Homes and has generously donated all cabinetry and countertops to the campus for this large project. Getting those items installed has been a task taken up by men from Friendship Baptist Church in East Cullman Association. Led by Pastor Tim McCormick, these guys have made multiple trips out to the campus to do all the installations and trim outs. So far, renovations are complete in two of our three cottages, and the remainder of the work is on track to be finished by the end of September.
New cabinets and countertops; painting and trimming out in progress
When asked what it has meant to him for these groups to step up to help, Smith responded, “To me, it’s tremendous. One, knowing I don’t have to purchase these costly materials or hire a contractor for these needs saves money for things we can do directly with the children. And two, it’s a huge burden off me because these guys know what they’re doing, and I’m not having to supervise. Their thing is, ‘We’ve got this. You go do ministry.’ So it’s been great for me and for the children.”
FUTURE HOME IMPROVEMENTS
Later this fall, some local church groups are hoping to volunteer their time and skills to complete some needed wall repairs before our annual Christmas Open House event. After that, Smith says the next phase begins in 2016 when they’ll go back into cottages and fix cracks in the walls that have occurred where settling has happened.
Our Decatur campus was dedicated in 1970, and we have been blessed to provide safe and loving homes for hundreds of children in need in North Alabama for the past 45 years. While routine maintenance is ongoing and a staple for keeping our homes in great condition for our children, we are grateful for the financial and physical support received to cover some of the “extras” involved in Home ownership.