In honor of National Foster Care Month and our missions focus for May, we wanted to highlight some of the organizations that are providing help for kids and families throughout our state. Check out these ministries to see how you can get involved!
The Baptist Children’s Village
Who are we missing and how do we reach them? That is the question The Baptist Children’s Village Leadership Team asked three years ago. The BCV exists, as part of the Mississippi Southern Baptist Church, to take the good news of Jesus Christ to at-risk children and families. In the past 36 months, the agency launched new programs to reach more children from birth to adulthood with the gospel.
Today The Baptist Children’s Village ministry includes six programs that provide at-risk children and families with hope and a strong foundation for their future. Current residential and non-residential programs included on the Continuum of Care are a Residential Child Caring Program, Residential Family Program, Independent Living Program, Youth Detention Intervention Program, In-Home Family Support Program (now available in all 82 counties), and a Family Resource Referral Program.
These services continue to be available with 100 percent private funding through the generosity of churches, businesses, individuals, and the Mississippi Baptist Cooperative Program. To learn more about these programs or about available tax credits that allow donors to be part of changing children’s lives without impacting their budget, visit baptistchildrensvillage.com or contact Director of Partner Ministries Tim McWilliams at tmcwilliams@bcvms.com or 601.952.2422.
Methodist Children’s Homes of Mississippi
With more than 3,500 children in our state’s foster care system, the need is great. One way Methodist Children’s Homes of Mississippi provides hope and healing is by certifying loving foster families who are trained to serve their needs. We are excited to see more families not only answer the call but realize that teenagers are children too. Every child in foster care needs love, stability, and support, and the need for foster parents has never been greater. Will you consider helping more children find their way home?
Pine Belt Foster Resources
Pine Belt Foster Resources is a nonprofit based in Hattiesburg and serves all surrounding counties in the Pine Belt. We provide necessities to children in foster care and at-risk families. We provide clothing, shoes, beds, car seats, formula, and diapers. If you want to help, visit facebook.com/PFRHattiesburg or https://pfrhattiesburg.org/, where you can submit a referral for disbursement or donate!
A garden of hope at Sunnybrook: Healing and growth for foster youth
Sunnybrook Children’s Home in Ridgeland is planting more than flowers this spring — it’s planting seeds of healing, purpose, and hope. As a Christ-centered ministry serving transitional-age foster youth (ages 14–21), Sunnybrook provides a safe home and the support young adults need to build independent, fulfilling lives.
This May, in honor of Foster Care Awareness Month, Sunnybrook celebrates the creation of its new “Garden of Hope” — a peaceful sanctuary where residents can pause, reflect, and be reminded of their God-given worth. The garden was designed and built by Eagle Scout candidate Linda Watson and her Troop, inspired by Linda’s own experience growing up in a family that has fostered more than a dozen children with love and compassion.
Featuring wildflowers, benches, wind chimes, and butterfly-inspired elements, the Garden of Hope mirrors the transformation Sunnybrook residents are working toward, rooted in faith and flourishing in grace.
To learn more about Sunnybrook’s mission or support the Garden of Hope, visit sunnybrookms.org or follow @SunnybrookChildrensHomeInc on Facebook.
Help grow the vision: GoFundMe.com/f/yrnxxw-help-build-the-garden-of-hope-at-sunnybrook
Youth Villages
At 14, Dedrick was removed from his parents’ custody. He temporarily stayed in a group home and then was placed in foster care before aging out of state custody. During his senior year of high school, Dedrick was referred to Youth Villages’ LifeSet program, an intensive, community-based program that pairs former foster youth ages 17-21 with trained specialists who help them identify and achieve goals while navigating the adult world. With assistance from LifeSet and his foster mom, Dedrick is at Hinds Community College and leans on Bible verse John 3:16 for support. Learn more at youthvillages.org/lifeset.