Boys and Girls Homes of NC celebrate 70 years of service
LAKE WACCAMAW, NC (WWAY) — The Boys and Girls Homes of North Carolina cut the ribbon on the newly renovated Lions Cottage Tuesday as the organization celebrates 70 years of service.
It all began in 1954 at a white house overlooking Lake Waccamaw known as Flemington Hall.
What started as a boys home has now grown to a 150-acre campus, which includes several residential group homes, a foster care program that started in 1999, an adoption program in 2004, a child advocacy center in 2019, a charter school and a farm.
The foster program alone has since grown to include 120 foster homes across 14 counties.
Donna Yalch said these programs have served more than 7,500 children since the organization’s founding.
“I mean it literally took kids of the street and placed them in a loving, caring home where they were able to go to school, they could focus on school, they could focus on graduating. And a lot of them are the first people in their families that graduated high school,” Yalch said.
Children like Lindsay Garner-McGraw. Garner-McGraw spent part of her childhood in the girls homes and now works as a teaching parent in the newly opened Lions Cottage.
“I feel like my experience living here and going through abuse makes this job perfect for me because these kids can talk with me and I understand what they come from and some of the things they’ve been through and know that they’re never going to be judged by me,” Garner-McGraw explained.
Providing a safe space for children goes beyond a place to live. In 2019, Boys and Girls Homes opened Carolyn’s Kaleidoscope Child Advocacy Center. The center gives abused children a comforting space to tell their story so their abusers can be brought to justice.
Director Danielle Nolan said hearing those stories isn’t easy but that it is sometimes the only way to hold abusers accountable.
“To know that they don’t have to carry it alone, to know that they know there’s somebody there with them and that we are getting them the justice they deserve and helping them find their voice when they don’t have one, I can’t think of a better job,” Nolan said.
Chief Residential Officer Erika Brown added although the Boys and Girls Homes have come a long way, they’re not done yet.
“We are growing. We are excited about our growth and we’re looking forward to what 2025 has to bring, because 2024 has been amazing. We’re getting new kids in, we’re keeping sibling groups together, we are really proud of where we have come,” Brown noted.
