From our blog and publications
Trey Oakley, President/CEO of Methodist Children’s Home (MCH), today announced the appointment of Traci Wagner as Vice President for Family Outreach. Wagner has served MCH since 2008 through MCH Family Outreach, first as director of community outreach for the office in Tyler, Texas, and the last eight years as program administrator, overseeing the seven MCH […]
Four MCH Family Outreach offices launched a new program to support caregivers called Parent Café. Staff first heard about the support group model during a conference in 2018 and felt it would be a good fit for MCH. “We often hear from families in the communities we serve that they feel isolated and alone,” said […]
Spiritual Development (SD) programs at MCH offer youth creative opportunities to connect with God. This fall, SD welcomed youth to get involved and explore their gifts through leadership groups and special events. To join a leadership group, youth must go through an interview, demonstrate a commitment and adhere to a standard of behavior. Leadership groups […]
For more than three decades, First United Methodist Church of Grapevine has made sure every child at Methodist Children’s Home (MCH) gets a bicycle for Christmas. The giving tradition began in the late 1980s when Jim Kennebrew, who was a member of FUMC Grapevine at the time, first organized the special donation. Kennebrew recalled the […]
It hasn’t always been an easy process, but Rainn has turned hard times into learning experiences and used them to become stronger. At age 11, Rainn and her sister were removed from an abusive home by Child Protective Services. For the next few years, they moved between foster homes before ending up at an emergency shelter in 2015. It was there they learned about Methodist Children’s Home.
Passion, a quiet 19-year-old with a bright but shy smile, had a tumultuous childhood that saw her moving between parents and schools on a regular basis. A case manager from the nonprofit Communities in Schools referred Passion to The Cove, a new nonprofit in Waco offering students dealing with homelessness a safe place to study, shower, wash clothes, and receive a healthy meal. Graduating and aging out of The Cove’s services presented new challenges for the girls, who weren’t ready to be on their own. That is when Atkinson reached out to Jeff Creel, MCH program administrator for school and transition services, to see if MCH could help.
The news and notes for the Fall 2019 issue cover: MCH’s agency-wide life skills initiative launch, MCH students getting a head start through advanced academic programs and MCH employees donating to Pack of Hope.
Featuring stories of impact from four of our MCH Family Outreach locations: El Paso, Corpus Christi, Dallas and San Antonio.
This season in Development News: MCH opens the Nancy J. Bowen and B.R. and Helen Greathouse Homes, MCH again receives Charity Evaluator’s highest rating and a recap of this year’s 2019 Commissioners Meeting.
College was something Eli had never considered. He dropped out of high school twice before his junior year, and with financial struggles at home, he said school just didn’t seem important. In August 2018, Eli’s mother said she found a place that would be good for him. She sent him to Methodist Children’s Home, and Eli found the structure he needed.