Everybody wants a place to call home, but not every child can live in the home, they're born in.
Some don't fare well in foster settings either. That's where the Methodist Home for Children in Macon steps in.
This weekend, they will host their annual Celebration Day for the children who live there, and invite the community to the party.
Celebration Day: Event Information
For people who don't know about the Methodist Home's mission, the staff there say it can make a huge difference in a child's life.
Nineteen-year-old Quentin Lee, from Atlanta, needed a place where his creative juices could flow. He's a budding artist, constantly working on colorful drawings.
He had been searching for a place to do that for years.
Lee said, "I grew up in a foster home. Fourteen years old, I was placed in DFACS due to unstable environments and what not. Been bumped around a lot."
The last move, two years ago, brought Lee to the Methodist Home for Children.
Lee said, "When I first got here, I was like, 'It ain't gonna work, because it's a group home, and that's a lot of drama'."
With the encouragement of Jeff Lawrence, vice president of programming at the home, Lee gave it a chance.
After awhile, it stuck, to Lee's surprise and Lawrence's pleasure.
Lawrence said, "Our young people come to us very traumatized in a lot of ways. A lot of their reactions to that trauma is eliminated just by coming into our setting."
Lawrence readily admits the best place for a child to be is with a family. He says most of the children at the home cannot be with family, because of one or multiple types of abuse.
The try to provide the next-best place for children.
The Methodist home offers young people, kindergarten through college graduation, the comfort and security of home. Education and recreation opportunities are offered, too.
Of the 78 children housed there, many succeed. Others do not.
Lawrence explained, "Other young people are so severely traumatized, they've been multiple places, multiple families, multiple living arrangements. They've lost a sense of trust in adults, in the system."
Lawrence says those cases don't keep them from trying.
Lee says he's thankful the people there didn't give up on him. He said, "I felt like there were times, I didn't want to proceed with this, didn't want to do that. I had people from the Methodist Home to help me."
He's delving into his artistic abilities, drawing and rapping.
Lee graduates from high school in May and already enrolled in college for next year.
The Methodist Home is funded by the state through the Department of Family and Children's Services, an endowment and donations.
You can help in their mission to serve children by having some fun at Celebration Day this coming Saturday.
Celebration Day is 10 a.m. until 2 p.m. on Saturday at the home located at 304 Pierce Ave. in Macon.
It will feature a carnival, bake sale, live auction, silent auction, lunch and market.
