Raleigh’s Place is a Christ-centered foster care ministry that exists to Live the Gospel by Loving the Fatherless. We serve Chilton and surrounding counties as we provide and support foster homes, host a free summer camp, provide clothing and other resources, train foster parents, and equip teenage foster youth for life after care.
Our first ministry is Raleigh’s Place homes. We began as a foster home and continue to serve the fatherless with homes today. Over the years, more than 240 children have called Raleigh’s Place home. We also work with many different foster families by providing food, clothing, respite, and more to help meet their needs. Our hope is that foster children will be reunified with their families. When that does not happen, we help foster families find forever homes for their foster children.
The next ministry is Camp 1:27. Camp 1:27 is our annual summer camp for children who are in foster homes, institutional settings, relative placements, or who have been adopted. One unique feature of Camp 1:27 is that it is absolutely FREE for children who are currently in or have been through the foster care system. Camp has aspects of a traditional camp, including arts & crafts, sports activities, and swimming. Camp also has Bible study, praise and worship, and God and I times. 2021 was an important year for Camp 1:27 as we celebrated 10 years of ministry and 1,000 campers served!
Another ministry of Raleigh’s Place is Katie’s Kloset. Katie’s Kloset began in 2017 as a clothing ministry for foster families. Over the years we have been able to serve hundreds of foster children in Alabama. We quickly realized that this ministry could be bigger so we began seeking property to open a thrift store. We re-opened Katie’s Kloset as a fully functioning thrift store in May 2020. We still continue to provide free resources to foster families as we continue to Live the Gospel by Loving the Fatherless.
A new ministry that began in July 2020 is the Workmanship Initiative. The Workmanship Initiative is designed to equip foster children who are preparing to age out of care with the skills necessary to be self-sufficient adults. We will focus on four primary areas: Education, Life Skills, Job Training, and Job Placement. We are also renovating some of our facilities to serve as Transitional Living Apartments, which will provide a safe, comfortable living for those who have or are about to age out of care.
Our greatest desire is to point foster children to Christ in all that we do. We want to see lives transformed, cycles broken, and hope restored in those who have lost all hope. For a glimpse of the impact of Raleigh’s Place, please watch the following video:
For a glimpse of the typical life of a foster child, please watch these videos. They are award winning short films produced by Heschle that chronicle a young girl’s struggles with foster care. It is a short story about the sad reality of foster children and foster care.
“The ReMoved Films are being created with the intent to bring light to the often unknown subjects of Foster Care and Child Abuse/Neglect. The films educate those who are learning, while simultaneously identifying with those who understand all too well. The films are available online to watch for free. We do this because even though the cost of creating a film is high, we believe these films can have the most impact when they’re most easily accessible.”
“Our goal is that these films would serve as a key tool in raising up and training good foster parents, social workers, court-appointed special advocates, and the many other adults who interact with children in foster care. To that end, we encourage foster care related agencies and organizations to use the film in their training, outreach, and fundraising endeavors.”