Connie Maxwell Children’s Home, founded in 1892, will welcome hundreds of alumni back to the main campus June 8-10 for its 120th homecoming reunion.
The Connie Maxwell Orphanage baseball team, circa 1915.“This event renews our efforts for today’s children as we see how this special place of caring has meant so much to those who have moved on to raise families of their own and enjoy a life that Connie Maxwell helped them establish,” said Ben Davis, Connie Maxwell’s president.
The Greenwood-based ministry was established through the generosity of Dr. J.C. Maxwell and his wife, Sarah. The Maxwells had lost their 7-year-old daughter, Connie, to scarlet fever in 1883. To honor her memory, the Maxwells gave South Carolina Baptists more than 480 acres and willed their estate to be used in starting a ministry of caring for children. Twelve-year-old Susie Burton from Newberry County was the first child received into care on May 22, 1892. During the first years of operation, most of the children were orphans.
Today, Connie Maxwell continues to serve scores of children annually at its Greenwood campus and at satellite locations around the state.
Two new programs are being offered on the main campus in Greenwood. The Connie Maxwell Family Care Program exists to restore families with hope, comfort, and shelter while they locate the resources they need to move toward successful independent living. Relief and assistance are provided to single parents from all walks of life so each family can focus on resolving their individual crisis and temporary instability.
The second initiative is a program to work with grandparents who are serving as “parents again.” From elementary school-age children to seniors graduating from high school, Connie Maxwell partners with grandparents in meeting the basic physical, intellectual, emotional and spiritual needs of their grandchildren.
For more information: http://www.conniemaxwell.com.