Harvesting a legacy: Church of God Children's Home says thanks with barbecue, activities today

Published 12:00 am Monday, October 8, 2012

KANNAPOLIS – Since 1945, executive director Mike Walker said, the Church of God Children’s Home has honored the generosity of church members who keep the agency functioning.
At today’s Harvest Festival, the home – which houses 25 children, including teen mothers and their babies – will say thanks to parishioners and members of the community from across the state.
The free event, open to the public, is expected to draw more than 700 people, Walker said.
From 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., guests can enjoy barbecue, gospel singing, an on-site petting zoo from Lazy 5 Ranch and other games and activities.
Other activities include jousting demonstration by David Mesimer Stables, representing character education program Early Act First Knight.
But this year’s festival is different from those of the past, organizers say.
Walker, who’s held his post for four years, said that’s partly due to the changing times.
“There’s a lot of people who haven’t been to the home,” Walker said.
The state’s Church of God parishes are a primary source of funds for the children’s home, which has a budget of about $1 million per year, Walker said.
Funding concerns
Though today’s event is not meant to be a fundraiser, he said, members come from all over the state to visit at Harvest Festival time, and many send special offerings they’ve collected.
With the poor economy, raising funds can be more difficult. The home also relies on grants and corporate donations, Walker said.
Another factor: changes in how the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services handles foster-care placement.
Dale Cannon, foster care coordinator, said that about 40 percent of the home’s residents have been placed there by the state, which also funds the costs of caring for those children.
The remaining 60 percent of children are placed privately by families who feel they can no longer care for them.
Walker said they are the reason community contributions are vital.
“These are neglected, abused, at-risk kids who come here,” he said.
And, although they often have no funds to cover their expenses, the home accepts children without regard for a family’s ability to pay.
In one common situation, Cannon said, grandparents may have gotten custody of a child whose parents aren’t able or willing to be caregivers.
“But, they can’t handle the child who’s beginning to rebel,” he said.
In addition, Cannon said the home operates one cottage for young mothers, with a second one about to open.
“These are teen mothers who have chosen life instead of abortion for their babies, but who are homeless or have no one to turn to,” Walker said.
The new mothers receive parenting help, as well as financial literacy skills and assistance in searching for a job, Cannon said.
Things were different a few years ago, when virtually all of the children at the home were state-placed and fully-funded.
Today, Cannon said, the home has decided to seek out more privately placed children, and to return to what had once been a tradition in their denomination.
“From 1945 until, I’d say, the mid- to late ’70s, this home survived entirely on private donations,” Cannon said.
Dedicate monument
Another celebration of history will take place at 1:30, Walker said, when members of the Church of God will dedicate a memorial formerly located on the campus of East Coast Bible College in Charlotte.
The monument – consisting of two 5,000-pound stone blocks and smaller tablets, inscribed with the church’s articles of faith – is being re-erected on the site.
It’s been restored, Cannon said, after having been vandalized once the college moved from its former location.
“A lot of folks will be emotional because they were part of the original dedication back in 1976,” Cannon said.
For Walker, today’s celebration is a way of showing the gratitude residents and staff feel for the community’s support – and, he said, “for God’s blessings at harvest time.”
“If you can affect the life of a child, you can change generations to come,” Walker said.
The Church of God Children’s Home is at 3485 Orphanage Circle in Kannapolis.