I’ve been trying to play around with some stuff on my blog this week to update the way that folks comment and hopefully I haven’t messed everything up totally. It always takes me some time to navigate the ins and outs of making changes and sometimes I am not always successful. With that being said, I am still able to see all of the old comments on my blog posts even if they don’t show up for others. I am trying to fix that but going forward hope that it will be a little easier to comment here. Please let me know if you run into issues.
With all of that being said, it is the first of the month again and time to count up our comments for the month and make a donation to the recipient for the month. Our recipient for this past month was the Allied Whale Adopt a Whale program that was inspired by our recent trip to Maine. Thanks to your comments Chris and I will be making a donation which will fund the adoption of a mother and calf humpback whale. We will be making this adoption in the name of our grandson to honor our trip whale watching with him in August. Thank you to each one of you for your willingness to stop by and comment.
Last week I was privileged to go with a group of quilters from Connestee Falls to tour the Black Mountain Home for Children, Youth and Families. This generous group of women had crafted quilts and more to donate to the facility and graciously allowed me to tag along on the tour. And what a tour it was! I came away knowing that this was a place that was worthy of my attention and definitely fits the criteria for being a highlighted Comments for a Cause.
A mural in one of the buildings shares the mission of this place.
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I was just so impressed with all of the information and presentations that we received and truly felt the love of God in every nook and cranny of the 200 acres that this facility covers. To understand the extent of what they do in this place it is easiest to share from their website what they strive to do.
A TRUE CONTINUUM OF CARE
When children are in need of out-of-home placement, BMH can meet those needs through all the stages and phases of their growing up years. From infants born prematurely or with addictions to young adults working toward an educational or career goal, the ministry provides a safe, supportive home for youth of all ages and stages.
Programs include:
- Family foster care in the local community
- Cottage care on our campuses in Black Mountain and Pisgah Forest, NC
- Transitional living providing life coaching for teens
- Independent Living for older youth continuing their education beyond high school or working toward a specific career goal through our Apprenticeship Program
- Lifelong Living for those with learning or cognitive challenges who will need support as they move into adulthood
It is a beautiful campus and if you are ever able to take the tour I would highly recommend it. Seeing the living spaces, being served a lovely luncheon by the culinary apprenticeship students, to taking the bus tour is truly the best way to get the flavor of this place.
These are where some of the residents live and they are beautiful inside and outside. Such care and love is taken and that translates to care and love that all of those children and youth are able to feel as part of living here.
Currently Black Mountain Home is celebrating 100 years and it is not difficult to believe that they have been providing care for that long. Started by a Presbyterian minster, Robert Perry Smith, as Mountain Orphanage, Black Mountain Home for Children, Youth and Families has grown into a ministry that serves youth from birth through college graduation through family foster care, residential care, transitional living and independent living programs. One of the things that I love is that they also have a Thrift Store (Cheryl’s Place) and a cafe (Thirteen Pennies) which provides jobs and training for some of their older youth while also generating revenue for the ministries.
Please join me this month in supporting another wonderful cause – Black Mountain Home for Children, Youth and Families by commenting on posts here on It’s Just Life. Each comment this month means that Chris and I will make a 50 cent donation and those comments add up as you can imagine. I am thrilled to have found another worthy place to donate to and to recommend to others. After visiting with staff, house parents and even some of the young folks in the apprenticeship program I feel confident that this is a place that my readers will be happy to make comments for. Please visit the links below to explore more about this wonderful place and the ministry that they are sharing with their area.