Many of us say we care. However, the reality for 5-8 million children worldwide is that they do not live with their biological families but rather in residential facilities and foster care homes similar to that of the Smoky Mountain Children’s Home. What’s even more alarming is that many of these parents have chosen their own lifestyle over providing a loving and caring home for their own children. It should be a wakeup call for all of us to care.
At the Smoky Mountain Children’s Home SMCH, we care because we provide a residential program for youth from the ages of 12 to 17. They are provided food, shelter, education and anything you can think of that any growing teenager would need. Our priority is to teach them the spiritual principles of salvation and have a personal relationship with Christ by reading their Bibles, attending church and being involved in private devotions.
We care by providing an on-campus school (called Alpha) to make sure they have a proper education. Some of our youth come to us with very few credits to graduate high school. A principal, special education director and teachers help them reach the goal of graduating, so they can continue to further their journey in the life to which God has called them.
We care through the opportunity of sponsoring foster care families. Some of our greatest community assets are our Christian families who provide loving and nurturing families. Many times this includes fostering large sibling groups. A safe environment is created for them until permanency can be achieved.
We care through one of the most rewarding ministries and that is our adoption agency. Families are encouraged to work with our foster care program to select a child whose personality corresponds with their family structures and dynamics. This provides the child a place of belonging by making them a permanent member of their family. Approximately 30 children each year are given a forever family.
We care at Smoky Mountain Children’s Home, because we have the opportunity to help in transforming the lives of over 400 children and youth each year. Our desire is for them to literally be transformed. The scripture that serves as a foundation for all we do is found in Romans 12:1-2:
I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And do not be conformed to this world but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God. (NKJV)
We care because our goal at Smoky Mountain Children’s Home is to provide a positive experience and to literally change a generation. Just think about that possibility!
Tammie Mauldin is the Co-Executive Director of Smoky Mountain Children’s Home.
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