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Become a "Sweet Dreams" Bed Sponsor
Become a "Sweet Dreams" Bed Sponsor
May 28, 2008
Sweet dreams is a wish for every child, but some of the children who come to Baptist Children’s Homes have never experienced a restful night. Their nights have been filled with fear and scary sounds, shivers and dampness, nightmares and long hours lying awake in the darkness.
At Baptist Children’s Homes, children find rest. Every evening they sit at dinner tables and enjoy good, nutritious meals. They bathe and dress in clean bed clothes. They fall asleep in warm, comfortable beds.
Christian men and women wrap their arms around children with a loving touch. They help them feel safe and encourage them to trust in a loving God who will keep them for all eternity.
Introducing a new giving oppor-tunity – become a “Sweet Dreams” Bed Sponsor! You can become an inaugural 2008 Bed Sponsor for a gift of only $120.00. Or sponsor a room with two beds for $240.00. Sponsor all the beds in a cottage for $1,200.00. This inaugural sponsorship is for the remainder of this year. In January 2009, you will have the first opportunity to renew your sponsorship for the year with a one-time gift of $300.00 a bed or a pledge of $25.00 per month per bed.
One thousand bed sponsors are needed during this inaugural offer.
Your sponsorship entitles you to have your name engraved on a plaque and the plaque mounted on a child’s bed for this introductory time period. Each night, your name can serve as a reminder to a boy that you are remembering him as he slips away to “sweet dreams.”
Your bed sponsor gift entitles your plaque to be a reminder until 2009. If you choose to continue to be a “Sweet Dreams” Bed Sponsor, your gift next year will assure that your plaque remains as a reminder to a child of your love and care for an additional 12 months. Gifts can be made in honor or memory of a special person.
Each plaque is a minimum 3 inches wide and 1.25 inches deep. Names are engraved. Imagine a child tucked into her bed and as she slips away to slumber every night your gift reminds her that you love her. She will be set for an evening of “sweet dreams.” Make your gift now! This inaugural offer is good only until July 18.
To become a "Sweet Dreams" Bed Sponsor, contact Brenda Gray at 336-474-1230 or bbgray@bchfamily.org
BCH Announces Wilderness Camp For Girls
BCH Announces Wilderness Camp For Girls
May 20, 2008
Baptist Children’s Homes of North Carolina (BCH) announced on Tuesday that it will expand services in the Moore County area by opening a wilderness camp to help girls and their families. Michael C. Blackwell, President of the 122-year-old statewide nonprofit institution, made the announcement on Tuesday, May 20, at BCH’s Cameron Boys Camp. Blackwell was presented a $250,000 grant for the new camp from the Gay T. and Haskell A. Duncan Charitable Foundation, Inc., a private foundation located in Southern Pines.
“For years we’ve anticipated creating a complement to the specialized services offered at our highly successful wilderness boys camp,” says BCH president Michael C. Blackwell. “A camp for girls has long been my personal vision. That vision has been bolstered by the support and desire of our North Carolina Baptist constituents who wish to see the lives of girls impacted and irrevocably changed in the same way hundreds of boys and their families have found hope and healing at Cameron Boys Camp. The creation of a girls camp will truly be the fulfillment of a long-held dream.”
BCH has helped boys and their families at Cameron Boys Camp since 1980. Located on 902 forested acres, Camp serves school-aged boys. Boys live outside year round in a highly structured, wilderness environment. Three staff members called Chiefs supervise each group of ten boys. The goal is to help boys and their families overcome the challenges and obstacles in their lives and reunify the household.
With the expansion, this same unique wilderness camping service will now be available for girls.
“A girls camp has always been a priority, and we’ve been close to making it a reality a couple of times throughout the years, but the timing was never quite right,” Blackwell explains. “Now, the gracious commitment of the Duncan Foundation is helping make this dream a reality.”
Haskell Duncan and his wife Gay were longtime BCH supporters who shared the childcare institution’s vision for wilderness camping to help girls. They attended First Baptist Church in Southern Pines and had a special affinity for Cameron Boys Camp. Haskell served one term on BCH’s Board of Trustees.
Haskell created the Gay T. and Haskell A. Duncan Charitable Foundation to one day ensure his assets went towards accomplishing his personal vision for helping others. Upon his death in April 2005, fellow church members Wayne Jordan and Mark Vaughn, and BCH Treasurer/CFO Sam Barefoot became the foundation’s President, Secretary/Treasurer, and Vice President respectively. One of the foundation’s main intents was to allow BCH to use the Duncan’s 576 acre residential property and its facilities in Aberdeen for a girls camp.
“Haskell was an ardent supporter of BCH and Cameron Boys Camp during his life, and he always envisioned his property being used for a similar camp to help girls,” says Jordan. “The foundation board is extremely pleased to bring Haskell’s vision for his property to fruition.”
The foundation’s initial $250,000 grant goes towards start-up costs for the new camp. The foundation has extended a fund-raising challenge where it will contribute an additional $250,000 when BCH raises $500,000 in funding.
“Raising this money is crucial,” Blackwell says. “Being able to utilize this property meets a major need, but covering start-up costs and the ability to take care of monthly expenses is paramount to the camp’s success. I encourage everyone with a heart for children to help.”
BCH will lease the property from the foundation. The institution will utilize the property’s existing facilities, including the Duncan home and two duplexes, for administrative offices, staff quarters, and other camp needs. Like Cameron Boys Camp, residential campsites for the different girls groups will be created within the wooded areas. BCH will employ qualified female counselors to serve as Chiefs for the girls.
Potential residents for the camp will come from a variety of sources. Children can be referred by the Department of Social Services, Department of Juvenile Justice, the public school system, churches, and individuals. In fact, anyone who sees a need in their community can make a call of referral to BCH. The camp will serve girls in the Moore County area, but because of the unique nature of the wilderness camping service, BCH will accept girls from across the state.
BCH’s Paul Daley, Director of Cameron Boys Camp, is excited about beginning a similar camp for girls.
“We’ve been excited about a potential girls camp for years,” Daley says. “We’re looking forward to getting it going and growing this camp to help girls in the same way we have boys.”
A timetable for opening the camp is currently being established. Much of it depends on the pace of fund-raising efforts.
“It’s taken us nearly 20 years to reach this point so we are more than ready,” Blackwell says. “The girls camp gives us another dynamic and creative option to help families overcome the tremendous challenges they face.”
Since 1885, Baptist Children’s Homes of North Carolina has helped children and families. BCH began with one campus, Mills Home in Thomasville, but now provides services in 16 communities across the state.