Thornwell Home Builds Better Families

Building loving and supportive environments for families and young people is the role undertaken by Thornwell Home for Children since its founding as a Presbyterian ministry in 1875, according to Joy Messner, Capital Rotary’s guest speaker on May 8. Messner (at left in photo with Rotarian Ann Elliott) is mission advancement officer for the nonprofit organization that provides innovative and effective solutions for those in need. From its campus in Clinton, Thornwell operates in 20 South Carolina, Georgia and Florida locations. It offers family-style residential care, foster care and building families programs including parenting workshops and intensive in-home counseling. Messner said strengthening families is important given the number of youngsters suffering child abuse and neglect or living in poverty, homelessness and food-insecure households. South Carolina need more than 1,800 more foster homes statewide and has over 57,000 grandparent households with primary responsibility for their grandchildren. Messner is a former church youth director and lay ministry leader who joined Thornwell two years ago after doing volunteer management, donor relations and fundraising for a non-profit children’s ministry in Camden, NJ.