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SPECIAL TO THE UMCONNECTION
BY JOHN W. COLEMAN JR.

Hannah R., 17, neatly wiped tears from her eyes as she and her younger sister, Elizabeth, told a captivated audience how the Board of Child Care of The United Methodist Church had saved their lives and, indeed, given them lives worth living.

The two recalled being rescued from an abusive home where they and 13 siblings had been 'traumatized, neglected, sick and friendless - our lives torn apart over and over again' recounted Elizabeth.

When they arrived at the board?s Baltimore campus in 2003, as fearful children yearning to feel safe and nurtured for the first time in their lives, they were greeted with a hot meal, new clothes, warm embraces and the special gift that welcomes all new young residents, a teddy bear.

Today, both girls are successful students, avid readers, active leaders among their peers and looking forward to college and continued success in their lives.

'I must thank the Board of Child Care with all my heart,' Hannah said. 'I would not have made it without all the staff, social workers and teachers who helped me and the people who brought me here.

'I?m glad to be alive,' Elizabeth said, 'and I can?t wait for tomorrow because of the hope and promise it can bring.'

The two sisters shared their hopes for the future in a place that signifies the Board of Child Care?s worthy past. They spoke during the dedication April 8 of the board?s gleaming new Archive and Welcome Center, for which planning began in January 2005.

The three-story, brick and glass structure, filled with over a century?s worth of documents, artifacts and photographs, is the last building to be erected on the historic child care agency?s sprawling main campus at 3300 Gaither Road in northwest Baltimore.

About 225 board members, staff and guests gathered on a rainy Saturday afternoon to hear remarks from board leaders and special guests, read a litany of dedication, witness a ribbon cutting and the presentation of gifts and donations, and finally to tour the colorful, spacious facility.

President and CEO Thomas L. Curcio lauded many contributors to the creation of the Archive and Welcome Center, especially former board chairwoman Sally Ransom Knecht, who collected and organized countless materials for the archive displays. But he and other speakers - including current board chairman James O. Mathis and Bishop John R. Schol - focused many of their remarks on the children and youth for whom the Board of Child Care exists.

'It is the young people who have come through this place that gives us pride in this occasion today,' said Bishop Schol. Preaching on the theme 'Stepping Stones to the Future,' he credited the 133-year-old institution?s success to its trust in God and its inclusive commitment to helping children and youth discover and achieve their aspirations.

He also expressed thanks to God for the board?s partnership with the conference and many of its churches and individuals who 'help to change lives in the name of Jesus Christ.'

Peter Goldberg, President and CEO of the Alliance for Children and Families, a national program support agency, praised the Board of Child Care for its leadership, innovation and performance as a 'model for nonprofit child-serving agencies everywhere.'

Lillian Parks a member of Metropolitan UMC in Indian Head, and president of the Board of Child Care Auxiliary, presented a $10,000 check from the auxiliary. Jean Ford from St. John?s of Hamilton also presented a check to the board for $4,500.

The Auxiliary has its own section of souvenirs on the second floor, surrounded by a three-dimensional timeline and exhibits on the board?s early predecessor agencies: the Kelso Home for Girls, the Strawbridge Home for Boys and the Swartzell Methodist Home for Children. Other campuses of the multi-site agency are also depicted in displays.

In addition, there are copious copies of vintage and more recent photographs, old newsletters, mounted words of wisdom from former leaders and contributors to the board?s ministry, three meticulously constructed replicas of the old Strawbridge Home facilities and a video of former residents sharing their fond memories and success stories.

Alongside a reception desk and offices, the first floor display area, which one enters through a faux brick archway, illustrates the board?s many services and campus life. A colorful fence structure lists the typical daily schedule and routine activities, from morning to bedtime. Services - including clinical therapy, education, recreation, transportation, foster care, adoption and family support - are depicted in creative, playful fashion, using cut-out figures, puzzle shapes and facades that portray an open book, a climbing wall and the back of a school bus.

Cascading down between the open staircase and the floor-to-ceiling windows that look out across the campus are large, vivid images of contemporary, smiling children and families, as if to remind the visitor that despite its reverence for history, it is the present and future that signifies the Board of Child Care?s timeless ministry.

Meeting rooms and more offices are located on the downstairs basement floor.

For President and CEO Thomas Curcio, the new center?s message and the Board of Child Care?s mission are summed up in three banners that hang at the entrance. One bears Jesus?s admonition, from Matthew 19:14, to welcome and not hinder the children 'for to such as these belongs the kingdom of heaven.' A second banner depicts the hands of a child with the words 'To bridge the hurt.' The third banner bears Jesus?s words in Luke 12:48, 'From everyone to whom much is given, much will be required.'

'My hope is that when people come here and look at our past and present accomplishments they will be inspired to contribute more to the future of these children,' said Curcio, 'because there?s so much more we must do to help them and others who will come after them.'