Category: Our Agency

Categories
Donor Generosity Our Agency

Sunrise Thanksgiving Offering Makes a Difference.

“Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.” – James 1:27 (NIV)

There is a reason that James 1:27 resonates so much with our staff at Sunrise. That wonderful passage of scripture reminds us to take care of the orphan in their affliction. The orphan is one of the most vulnerable segments of our population, and to care for them is one of the purest ways to show the love of Christ.

Many of the orphaned children we care for have faced atrocities that one can only imagine. They are like the dented can of peaches on the shelf at the grocery that is passed over time and time again because of the damage to its outside. But we know those peaches taste just as sweet if we only put a little more effort into opening the can.

Today’s most vulnerable children in Kentucky are being overlooked time and time again, to the point of having to sleep in state offices because they have nowhere to go and no one who understands what they have experienced. Because of our annual Thanksgiving Offering, Sunrise is able to show these children the healing power that only Christ can deliver.

This offering truly makes a difference in the lives of hurting children and their families. By giving, you can provide hope to a child who has lost all hope. You can build a brighter tomorrow for a child who fears there is no future. You can help a child find a loving home.

That’s why we are asking again this year for 1,000 churches or organizations to give $1,000 to Sunrise’s Thanksgiving Offering. Will your church or organization commit to being one of these 1,000 groups helping thousands of children find a home?

You can give today at sunrise.org/thanksgiving (Please put “Thanksgiving Offering” in the comment section on the online donate form).

We know that your Thanksgiving Offering may be given any time throughout the year, but it is most helpful when we receive that gift between the months of November and April.

It’s a critical time for our Kentucky children.  Will you prayerfully consider giving to Sunrise’s annual Thanksgiving Offering this year? – because every child deserves a home.

 

Article written by Dale Suttles, President of Sunrise Children’s Services

Categories
Our Agency Residential Treatment

Empowering Youth: Sunrise Children’s Services Clients Give Back Through Partnership with Mark12 Ministries

Mark12 Thrift Store

Sunrise Children’s Services and Mark12 Ministries are both located in Bullitt County, and their paths sometimes cross unexpectedly and sometimes not. For example, a teenage boy receiving care at the Spring Meadows Campus in Mt. Washington shared with staff that his father was homeless. It turned out that the boy’s father was being cared for by Mark12 Ministries. When the boy graduated from Spring Meadows, he wanted to give back and began working at Mark12 Ministries. Knowing that Mark12 had helped his family, he wanted to contribute in any way he could to help others in similar situations.

This incident was one of many factors that sparked a conversation between Mark12 and Sunrise Children’s Services about additional ways they could partner. Mark12 operates the Outreach Thrift Store in Shepherdsville, which not only helps cover operational costs for their ministry but also provides much-needed items to those living in Bullitt County. However, the thrift store is always in need of volunteers.

The staff at Sunrise recognized that they could help meet this need while also providing the youth they serve with an opportunity to develop career-related skills and give back to the community.

Mary Edmondson, Sunrise Program Director of Vocational Rehabilitation, was thrilled about the potential partnership. She worked closely with Perry Cooke, Executive Director of Mark12 Ministries, to envision how the teenage boys and girls at Sunrise could volunteer at the thrift store. The youth rotate their volunteer time based on their schedules, and they eagerly look forward to getting away and contributing to something positive. According to Mary, “Mark 12 has been a godsend! The kids love it, and I enjoy watching the Lord work through them. They volunteer their time and the talents the Good Lord has given them, and in return, they have also helped themselves.”

Perry Cooke and his staff share this enthusiasm: “We are excited to partner with a wonderful Christ-centered ministry that shares our mission to care for the least of these. When the boys come in to volunteer, they experience a sense of normalcy, doing what other kids their age are doing after school. Our team looks forward to loving on the boys and making them feel valued and special.”

Many at Sunrise acknowledge the importance of giving back as part of the healing process. “When we give to others, we are actively reflecting on the need to be servants of God through our actions,” said Emmanuel Maize, program director for the Spring Meadows Center. “This is a humbling experience that allows us to connect with others as God would have us to do. Partnerships like these allow our boys to experience the joy and personal growth that come from giving back.”

Written by Jake Pelfrey, Vice President of Marketing and Advancement.

Categories
Foster Care Foster to Adopt Our Agency

Our True Home

Our True Home

There is no greater feeling than the feeling of home. Oh, how I long for home after a long day’s work. To walk through those doors and be greeted by my children as I wrap them in my arms—there truly is no greater feeling. Yet, at Sunrise, we understand that this feeling of home is a foreign concept for many Kentucky kids, which is why we work tirelessly to ensure every child in Kentucky can experience the feeling of home. They deserve it. Why? The Prophet Isaiah states that the concept of home is important to God: “My people will live in peaceful dwelling places, in secure homes, in undisturbed places of rest.”

In FY 2023, Sunrise helped many children find their way home, whether through reunification, foster care, or adoption. However, these acts did not occur in isolation. They were made possible by our generous donors, like you. When you give to Sunrise, you invest in a child’s future. Your gifts help bring them to a place of peace—a place they can call home. Whether it’s through in-kind gifts to reduce costs, memorial giving to honor a loved one, mentoring a youth, or becoming a monthly Children’s Champion, your contributions fuel our beautiful mission of providing care and healing to children and families through Christ-centered ministries. Your generosity works in tandem with our loving and experienced staff, many of whom have been with Sunrise for decades. Your giving, volunteering, and praying all contribute to bringing healing and hope to children. We are so grateful for your support!

Home is important to Sunrise because it is important to our Heavenly Father. He desires everyone to find Home, and we know that in Him, we find our true home. And in this secure dwelling, we are empowered to be His hands and feet, extending our care to these precious children so that they might know the feeling of home.

To learn more about the impact made by Sunrise Children’s Services in Fiscal Year 2023, click here to download our Annual Report.

Written by Jake Pelfrey Vice President for Marketing and Advancement

Categories
Our Agency

Help Sunrise Comfort Children this Mother’s Day

“As a mother comforts her child, so will I comfort you . . . .” – Isaiah 66:13 (NIV)

Sunrise wishes all mothers a very happy Mother’s Day and recognizes the important roles mothers fulfill. One such role is providing love and comfort to their children. In doing so, they are modeling true love and comfort that comes from God Himself.

All children deserve a loving home where they can find comfort and protection. Sadly, this isn’t the case for thousands of children in Kentucky who have been removed from their homes. That is why the work of Sunrise foster parents is so important. They need your prayers. They need your support.

Will you remember our faithful and committed foster parents this Mother’s Day? We first ask for your prayers. Please pray that they will receive wisdom, strength, and patience to carry out God’s calling to provide comfort for the children in their care.

Consider also giving a Mother’s Day gift to Sunrise in May to help our Sunrise foster families. By simply giving a gift today, you are helping bring comfort to our Sunrise kids by letting them know they are valuable, cared for, and loved, in tangible ways. A gift to Sunrise will help our kids acquire emergency placement supplies, sports uniforms, equipment, musical instruments, and so much more.

Giving to Sunrise is easy. To make a Mother’s Day gift, go to sunrise.org/mothersfathersday. There you can also make your gift in honor or in memory of your mother, a special lady in your life, or any loved one.

Your gift this season to Sunrise can help bring smiles and comfort to families. It may even help our children find their forever homes!

Article written by David Lyninger, Sunrise director of Communications.

 

Categories
Donor Generosity Foster Care Foster to Adopt Independent Living Our Agency Residential Treatment

Remember Sunrise Kids on Mother’s and Father’s Day

Categories
Our Agency

The Sunrise Name Means Everything

Sunrise Children’s Services began in 1869 when ladies from Walnut Street Baptist Church in Louisville formed the Louisville Baptist Orphans Home to care for orphans of the Civil War. Later, it would expand and be named the Kentucky Baptist Homes for Children. Today, Sunrise remains the child welfare arm of the Kentucky Baptist Convention, providing residential, foster care, foster-to-adopt, independent living, and family services programs across this state.

But why “Sunrise?” Is there any significance in that name? Quite a lot, actually. And an interesting parallel.

The Walnut Street ladies looked across the streets of downtown Louisville and saw hurting children, broken families, and unending despair. Eventually, somehow, they found a ray of hope. They discovered a new purpose for their lives and a way they could share their purpose and hope with those who needed it most. That was nearly 155 years ago.

More than 1,000 years before the ladies from Louisville began their hope-filled journey, another group of women began theirs. But honestly, it didn’t begin very hopeful. They were headed to the tomb of their dear friend, starting their walk early that morning. The sun was just beginning to rise.

The women who went to see Jesus’ crucified body at sunrise probably thought the morning would bring nothing new. Like the ladies from Louisville, they were dealing with despair and heartache. They weren’t yet able to see any hope. They were missing their friend, their Lord – their purpose in life. Why would they think this morning would be any different than the last? Why would they even venture the thought that on this day, hopelessness could be replaced with joy? But to their surprise, this sunrise brought unimagined hope and healing to anyone who would receive it.

Every sunrise brings the promise of a new beginning, new possibilities, and new hope. That’s what Sunrise Children’s Services’ name conveys, and that’s what this ministry has shared with hurting children and families in crisis since 1869.

Please pray that Sunrise’s name will continue to convey a new start to children and families throughout Kentucky, while its mission never waivers from the One whose “name is above every name.”

Article written by David Lyninger, Sunrise director of communications.

Categories
Donor Generosity Our Agency Residential Treatment

Sunrise Reaches Out to Young People Through New Mentor Program

Two boys currently living at Sunrise’s Spring Meadows Center in Mt. Washington enjoy a painting class with their life coach mentors.

I met Chuck* when he first arrived at Sunrise’s Spring Meadow Center (SMC) in Mt. Washington.  As I began the admission process with him, I noticed he was a friendly, talkative boy who was – as most are at first – anxious about what his new life at SMC would be like.  He seemed determined to get through the treatment program here, and he applied himself to his therapy work for a time.  However, as time went by, he seemed to lose hope and motivation to keep moving in a healthy direction.

As a treatment team, we had considered starting a mentor program to help the boys with their motivation to work hard in the program, especially those that have little to no family involvement and support.   We were able to partner with Orphan Care Alliance’s Life Coaching program in March 2022 to recruit and train several life coaches.

Chuck was the first to receive a life coach.  After he began meeting with his life coach in October of 2022, he got much more serious about finishing his therapy, and he actually graduated the program in January of this year!  He continues to meet with his life coach each week while he waits for a good foster family placement.

His life coach, Wade Pritchard, has this to say about him: “In the few short months I’ve been meeting with Chuck, it has been inspiring to watch him increase in his desire to get well.  Chuck professes faith in Christ.  As he looks to the future and earnestly desires life beyond Sunrise, I have encouraged him to ‘leave behind’ the attitudes and behaviors that have led him to this place in his life.”

Pritchard shared with Chuck a portion of the scripture verse from Philippians 3:13: One thing I do, forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on. “Chuck and I both enjoy getting together and have expressed interest in continuing our relationship beyond his time at Sunrise,” said Pritchard.  “I look forward with great anticipation how God is going to help, guide, and bless this young man as he and I press on together.”

*Name has been changed for privacy.

Written by Suzanne Pritchard, Sunrise senior administrative assistant at Spring Meadows Center

Categories
Donor Generosity Our Agency Residential Treatment

Donor’s ministry to Sunrise began with a two-dollar bill!

Wanda Sullivan, former Administrative Assistant at the New Hope Pregnancy Center, had heard of Sunrise Children’s Services but hadn’t yet made any real connection with its ministry. That changed in 2018 when she retired from her job. “The Lord just kind of put a burden on my heart for Sunrise,” Sullivan said. “So, I told my pastor, Brother Robbie Fairley at Pleasant Grove Baptist Church in Shepherdsville, that I would be reaching out to Sunrise.”

Sullivan did just that. And then she waited. And prayed. Her specific prayer was: “Lord, I’m putting out the fleece. If our church or myself were supposed to connect to Sunrise, just have the person that I talk to contact Brother Robbie and say this is the place.” God answered. But not exactly in the way she asked.

Shortly after her talk with her pastor, and while she was eating out with some of her friends, Brother Robbie Fairley called her. And missed her. Sullivan called back. But he missed her call. Finally, they connected. “You know that fleece you put out about Sunrise?” Fairley told her over the phone. “Well, the person that you wanted to contact me didn’t, but Stewart stopped by here and wanted to know what you all are going to do.” (Stewart Haag is the activities and volunteer coordinator at Sunrise’s Spring Meadows Center in Mt. Washington). “I think you got your answer,” Fairley concluded.
That began four years ago. From the very start, Sullivan wanted to find a mission at Spring Meadows that no one else was fulfilling. Stewart Haag suggested coming once a month to celebrate birthdays because a lot of the boys had never had a birthday party. Sullivan loved the idea. “The first Sunday of every month, regardless if there’s a birthday or not, we come over and have cake,” Sullivan shared. “It’s a birthday cake if there are birthdays; if not, we just do some kind of cake.” Since then, Sullivan and her church have added Christmas. But for Sullivan, the birthday celebrations will always be her called mission. “Our birthdays are our thing,” she explained.

Along with a cake, Sullivan and a small group of three other church members lead a one-hour party with all the boys and leave behind a gift for the birthday boy. Four years ago, the birthday gift was actually a two-dollar bill. “The two-dollar bill got started with our first group,” said Sullivan. “They enjoyed getting the two-dollar bills. They got it, and they were like, ‘I got a two-dollar bill!’” Today, Sullivan and her group give the birthday boys at Spring Meadows gift cards or other items, adapting to the new boys in the program and to their interests.

But what Sullivan hopes most to give to the boys is something long lasting and even life changing. “We share the gospel with them; that’s our main goal,” she said. One young man from Spring Meadows accepted Jesus as his savior and was baptized in Pleasant Grove Baptist Church the first year of the birthday parties. “I want (the boys) to take away that there are people in the world that care about them, and there is a church in Bullitt County that has been faithful to them,” Sullivan continued. “These boys have been let down by the very people that should love them the most. And they get forgotten . . . . Our main thing is that somebody out there cares about them.”

Sullivan understands that there are many misconceptions about the boys who live at Spring Meadows Center. “Yes, there are some here because of bad choices that they made, but there are groups here that have different needs; they are the victims,” she said. “So, it doesn’t matter why they’re here; this is our opportunity. You know, either be a part of the solution, or you’re a part of the problem.”

It is clear that Sullivan is passionate about her ministry to the Spring Meadows boys. “Those boys have stolen my heart.” she stated. “It just makes my heart happy to be around them. They lift me up. I enjoy they’re company; I enjoy they’re honesty. And, I don’t know, I just love being around them.”

One of the many boys at Spring Meadows who captured Sullivan’s heart is Josh.* “He wanted to be a chef – a chef!” Wanda exclaimed. “And this kid, every month we would go, it would be like, ‘Miss Wanda, I have a new recipe for you.’ We were talking about hot chocolate. ‘Put some peppermint in that hot chocolate.’ And every time I do that now, I think about (Josh).”
For Sullivan, these monthly birthday parties are truly a mission given to her by God alone. “My prayer is that whatever God wants to do with Pleasant Grove in this ministry – if it’s to do the birthday party once a month until He calls us home, or in another way – then I want Him to lead this ministry,” she explained. “I thank Him for giving it to me, but I don’t own it.”

And all of us at Sunrise thank you, Wanda Sullivan, along with your church group and everyone at Pleasant Grove Baptist Church in Shepherdsville for consistently and genuinely caring for the boys who live at Sunrise’s Spring Meadows Center in Mt. Washington. You are helping our kids know they are valued, much more than a two-dollar bill.

Categories
Our Agency

Teenager’s Act of Kindness Impacts Sunrise

Seventeen-year-old Avery Krahwinkel recently asked her friends to donate items to Sunrise foster care instead of giving her gifts on her birthday. And they did! Items donated included soap, bubble bath, deodorant, shampoo, toothpaste, toys, and 32 jumbo rolls of toilet paper!

“I did something similar last year during the pandemic since I knew non-profits were struggling with having less volunteers and donations,” said Avery. “I am very fortunate and don’t need a bunch of gifts. And since people would be willing to spend money to get me a present, I asked them to spend money on donations instead.”

Avery first heard of Sunrise in 2020. “I am involved with the Owensboro Impact 100 Next Generation organization, and we toured Sunrise last year because they were one of our grant finalists,” she said. “I had never heard of Sunrise before, but after visiting I was able to see all the great work they are doing. They do a lot for this community, and I figured I could try to help by collecting donations.”

It was quite clear to Avery what she wanted to occur from this act of kindness. “First and foremost, I hope I was able to help families in need that Sunrise works with,” she explained. “I hope my friends see that they don’t necessarily need a lot of birthday gifts, and maybe they could start asking for donations instead.”

Avery has this message for others: “Overall, I hope people take away how easy it is to be kind. Don’t take being fortunate for granted, and try to use your privilege to help people in need.”

Sunrise foster care in Owensboro is extremely grateful to Avery for her generosity, and we are all touched by her compassionate and caring heart. Thank you, Avery!

Categories
Foster Care Foster to Adopt Our Agency Residential Treatment Solid Rock Childrens Ranch

Sunrise Adoption Partnership T-Shirt

Show your support of Sunrise Children’s Services with this exclusive Coffeetarian charity partnership t-shirt. This shirt is only available for a limited time! All proceeds go directly towards Sunrise, helping them to make a difference in thousands of families around Kentucky.

.: 100% Cotton
.: Classic fit
.: Tear-away label

Buy Now: https://coffeetarian.store/products/sunrise-adoption-partnership-t-shirt