"See, the home of God is among mortals. He will dwell with them as their God, and they will be His people." Revelation 21: 3-4
Representatives of InDwellings, Aldersgate, PADD, and TADD meet new DDSN Director in Columbia, SC
Pictured left to right: Ann Bright, TADD Laurie Lefevre, InDwellings
Carolyn Brown, TADD
Dr. Beverly Buscemi, SCDDSN Director
The Reverend Charles Blakely, InDwellings
Yvette Hering, Aldersgate
Bob Kearns, PADD
The Reverend Stephen Taylor, Aldersgate
Betty Lou Barclay, PADD
"Building Homes of Love" Honorary Chairman, WYFF's Michael Cogdill with his new friend, Kelly Vaughn, at the recent Down Syndrome "Buddy Walk" held at Furman
Kelly with another new friend: Actor Chris Burke, who once played Corky on the TV show "Life Goes On," and whose band played at the "Buddy Walk" in front of an enthusiastic crowd!
The InDwellings Board of Directors would like to extend a huge "THANK YOU" to John I. Smith Charities, Inc., for its recent generous donation to our ministry. With continued support from the community, we will reach our fundraising goal of $950,000.
If your foundation or company would like to make a donation, please let us know.
With your help, we can make the dream of building these "Homes of Love" a reality!
The
InDwellings ministry would also like to thank
everyone for the donated items, the visits, and the prayers for our Home Goods sale held on July 18 at
Easley Presbyterian. The support across the Presbytery for this
ministry is amazing! The sale netted the mission over $3,000 toward
building homes for adults with developmental disabilities, and many
people in the Easley community have been informed about the critical
need for these homes. Thanks to all for your continued support!
"Building Homes of Love" with InDwellings!
The clouds lifted and the
rain took a break allowing tents to be pitched and campfires to be lit
to show support for InDwellings, a faith-based non-profit group.
On Thursday, May 28, InDwellings launched its Capital Campaign,Building Homes of Love, with a camping-themed event at its future home next to the Presbyterian Communities Foothills Retirement Home in Easley, SC.About 70 people gathered to celebrate InDwellings work to build two homes for some special adults with special needs.Boy
Scouts from Powdersville Troop 210 and Clemson Troop 235 pitched tents
on the property to underscore the need for more privately-operated homes for adults with
developmental disabilities.The scouts also
got fires going to heat up the campaign, and then used those fires to
cook delicious biscuits and cobbler to share with the crowd.A biscuit eating contest between InDwellings board members and the Scouts lent an air of fun to the event.The Grace Covenant Acoustic Jammers provided some "down-home" tunes to inspire involvement in this crucial mission.
Please check out the rest of this website
for more information on how you can be involved!
Who We Are, And How You Can Help Us
Statistics tell us of a problem.
According to the SC Department of Disabilities and Special Needs (DDSN), there are more than 3100 special needs adults living at home with parents 55 years or older. Waiting lists for placement in government homes are years long. While statistics tell us of a problem, faith leads us to a solution.
InDwellings is that solution.
InDwellings, Inc., a non-profit organization and ministry of the Presbyterian Church (USA), is working to establish and maintain homes for adults with developmental disabilities. The Presbyterian Communities of South Carolina in Easley has donated land for the placement of the first homes. An architectural plan has been selected. Most importantly, applications have been taken from families whose hope for their loved ones' future rests on the success of this ministry. Now we ask for your prayers and support that this ministry will thrive.
We ask you to consider how you and your church can CARE for those who will reside in InDwellings' homes.
There are so many ways to be involved in this important ministry. Contact one of our board members listed on the "To Donate or Inquire" page to learn how, or fill out the Visitor Form at the bottom of this page. If you know of a family in need of our services, urge them to make an application. Lastly, we invite you to attend one of our board meetings to join us in working toward solutions that will affect the lives of families caring for loved ones with developmental disabilities.
Together, we can truly CARE.
InDwellings' Video
Click On The Movie Icon Below To View Our Video, Featuring Photography By A Veteran Photojournalist for CBS News, And Written And Narrated By A 24-Time Emmy Award Winning TV Journalist!
If you have trouble downloading the video, you might need to install an Apple "QuickTime" video player, which is available for free by clicking on the red hot link below:
The Foothills Presbytery is taking a rare and deep look into the
world of two families faced with the needs of their children with developmental disabilities.Their stories highlight a mission --
and a calling -- to reach the hand of Christ toward a great need that's too
often invisible.
Westminster
Presbyterian member, Jill Cogdill, led the production of a video on
behalf of the InDwellings Ministry.InDwellings is a non-profit group raising funds to build 2 homes for
adults with developmental disabilities in the Upstate.The group already has the land on which these homes will stand, adjacent
to the Presbyterian Retirement Home in Easley.Presbyterian Communities of South Carolina graciously donated the
land.The video showcases what
the homes will mean to families facing the crisis of adult children in need of a home the family can no longer provide.
This video features two families. The first is the
Leathrums, an Upstate family whose youngest son has Down syndrome.Roger, now 36, could live somewhere other than his
parents' home, with supervision, if only such a place existed in the
Upstate.InDwellings wants to build just
such a place, where folks like Roger can live with the dignity and sense of
community they long for, providing a deep sense of peace for his family.
The second family is the Poindexters, whose 2 1/2 year old son, Calvin, also has Down syndrome. Calvin's mom, Katie, is already thinking ahead to what sort of home will be available when Calvin is an adult, and wants to live as independently as he is able.
Because many of the parents of
adult children with developmental disabilities are now more than 55 years old, the need for these homes
rises urgently by the day.If a medical
or other crisis arises, these parents want to know that they have an option for housing these very special adult children.
Producer Jill Cogdill is an
InDwellings' board member, who secured the services of well-known
photojournalist, Mario de Carvalho.For
more than 30 years at CBS, Mario shot some of the biggest stories in the world.He has received numerous national Emmy
Awards, and his passion and heart for this project are immense.(Many of you may know that Mario is married
to the Upstate's own Jane Robelot, former anchor of the CBS Morning Show, and treasured member of our community.)
The producer's husband, 24-time Emmy Award winning TV journalist, Michael Cogdill, wrote and narrated the video. Michael is also the Honorary Chairman of the InDwellings Capital Campaign, "Building Homes of Love."
For more about InDwellings'
vision for these homes -- including pictures of the homes' exterior and layout --
please visit Page 3 of this website.Or click on the InDwellings' logo on the left
side of the front page of the Presbytery's website at www.foothillspresbytery.org.
The video is available for viewing on this website by clicking on the "Movie" icon above. We hope you will take a look into the lives of two families symbolizing a powerful need.To experience their lives is to hear the
calling to help many more.
Please fill out the visitor form to the right if you have any questions, or would like to receive our InDwellings brochure. You can also e-mail us at information@indwellings.org. Thank you!
