BigHouse

Incentives!

2011-07-03T19:16:00.000-07:00

Here's a little incentive for you to collect yellow pepsi caps and box codes for BigHouse Power Voting... you can get $25 OFF any service (now or future) at Integrity Auto Service in Opelika!

We are very excited to partner with Integrity to collect LOTS AND LOTS of bonus votes! Here's the details...

Collect Yellow Pepsi Power Vote Caps or Box Codes
Bring 10 or more caps/codes to Integrity Auto Service- 1007 Geneva St. in Opelika
Turn in the caps/codes and receive a $25 OFF Certificate.
ALL Caps due on or before Friday, July 29th at 5:00pm- sorry, no exceptions.
One per person, certificates can not be combined with any other offer/coupon.

Please take advantage of this great value AND support BigHouse at the same time! All codes are worth 5, 10, 15, 25, 50 or 100 votes each! That means 10 caps is worth a minimum of 50 votes! That is HUGE!

So collect your caps and bring em' in!

Integrity Auto Service

1007 Geneva St.

Opelika, AL 36801

(334) 749-3344

Owner- Michael Brown

www.integrityautomotive.org

-m

Rock the Vote!

2011-07-01T13:50:00.000-07:00

We need your help!!!

BigHouse is competing for a $10,000 Pepsi Refresh Everything Grant to provide care packages to children when the enter foster care. Many times, children come into care with little to no belongings. They need everything from a toothbrush to pajamas! We want to equip local DHR's with readymade kits they can give the child as soon as they enter care. These will contain toiletries, socks, underwear, and maybe even a toy or lovey. Here's the thing... WE NEED YOUR HELP to make this happen!

There are 2 ways to vote and 2 ways to help!
VOTE:
1. log on to www.refresheverything.com/bighousefoundation and sign up to vote! You can log-in with a facebook account or email (or try both)! Once per day!
2. Text 107285 to 73774 to vote via text message! Once per day!
HELP:
1. Tell everyone you know to vote! Family, Friends, Church members, Civic Groups, Co-workers, Running buddies, Day Care workers, Your kid's friend's parents, etc. We have got to GET THE WORD OUT and you can help! Send them the info to vote or a link to this blog.
2. Collect the yellow bonus vote caps on Pepsi Products! Each code on these caps is worth 5-100 bonus votes! You can even bring them to BigHouse and we'll enter them for you! This is a great and easy way to make a huge impact!

Remember- every vote helps us get one step closer to winning the grant- Please be a part of us making life a little easier for kids in foster care!!

Feeling grown up...

2011-06-29T13:19:00.001-07:00

Some days/weeks at BigHouse, I feel a little more "grown up" than others. This week has been one of those weeks! We started the week with a board meeting, and then had a meeting yesterday with the group hosting a golf tournament for us. This morning, I met with an AU Social Work Professor because we are blessed to have a practicum student with us this summer. For those of you who may not know what a practicum student is/does, it's a student preparing to start their social work classes who gets field experience by spending 90 hrs working with a community organization. This is our first time to have a practicum student, so we are learning about the program as we go!

This morning, I felt very "growny" while reporting on this student's performance (which has been great!) and what things she has been able to do so far while at BigHouse. This was our mid-term report and I will also evaluate her experience at the end of the summer semester. It has really helped me think about what kind of opportunities and experiences we can expose our volunteers to while they help at BigHouse. They are learning and growing right along side us and thankfully, they don't expect us to have all the answers yet. We will also have a practicum student to help this fall! I am excited!

Here is a little introduction to our summer practicum student!

Elana Greenwood

Rising Junior in Social Work at Auburn.

"I lean not on my own understanding,
my life is in the hands of the maker of heaven."

Sometimes I feel a little bit like the blind leading the blind at BigHouse. I am 2 years out of college trying to tell college juniors and seniors all I "know" about running a non-profit and helping kids in foster care. Needless to say, I don't know "a lot"... but I do know who has the answers, the plan, and the means to make our dreams for BigHouse a reality. Please join me in praying that God will continue to guide our steps and help us feel more equipped to do the job at hand!

Golf Tournament!

2011-06-28T09:51:00.000-07:00

BigHouse is excited and honored to be the recipient of the Auburn Links Men's Golf Association Charity Classic on August 6th! This is our first time to be a part of a golf tournament and we truly appreciate the time and effort these men are putting in to raise money for us. And from what we hear, it's gonna be a GOOD time!

There are several ways YOU can support the ALMGA's Charity Classic and BigHouse!

Become a Sponsor!

-Event Co-Sponsor- $500- includes 2 player's entries, 2 rounds of golf at Auburn Links, flag stick and signage

-Flag Stick Sponsor- $175- includes 2 rounds of golf at Auburn Links, flag stick and signage

-Tee Sponsor- $100- includes 2 rounds of golf at Auburn Links, signage

Play in the Tournament!

-8:30 shotgun start, two person scramble, lunch and prizes provided

-One Player Entry- $75

-Team(2 players) Entry- $150

To register as a Player or Sponsor- go to the Auburn Links Website OR call (334)887-5151 or email John at jkarabpga@msn.com

Please come out and play with us on August 6th!! We look forward to seeing you there!

-m

What's new at BigHouse!

2011-06-27T13:41:00.000-07:00

Here is the latest news at BigHouse...

We have completed the BigHouse 2011 Swimsuit and Towel Drive! We raised over $10,000 in monetary donations + thousands of swimsuits and towels and were able to give every child an embroidered towel and swimsuit, and every teen an embroidered towel! We estimated it would cost about $25 per child for a new swimsuit, towel, and embroidery so an estimated value of our entire collection is about $85,000!!! WOW! Thank you to EVERYONE who donated, embroidered, or volunteered to help pack up the suits and towels! We have received wonderful feedback from foster parents and social workers across the state...

"Thank you all for the beautiful towels and swimtrunks!!!!! All four boys loved them,they feel very special to know that a complete stranger thought so much of them to get them something special. May you be blessed in every way possible!!!! Not many people relize how something so small means so much to these little guys!!!!! We are beach bound in the a.m. So you can only imagine what was first to be packed.LOL."

-Foster mom in Chilton County

"We, too, got our towels and suits today! All 4 of 'my babies' were THRILLED! They put them on right away and even took their naps STILL wearing them and used the towel as their covers. Took the towels to bed with them tonight too!! They kept saying, "Is that 'my' name on there? Show me where it says my name." I assured them that it WAS their name! :) So Thank-You, Thank You to EVERYone involved. They were definitely a 'hit' at "Our Big House". :) Now we gotta go swimming!! :)"

- Foster mom in Shelby County

‎"What a beautiful gift you sent for our little girl! She is autistic and carries her new suit and towel every where with her to show people. "Look, look!" is a phrase I hear from her all day. She repeatedly traces her name on the towel with her fingers and says her name. I wish you could see her twirling, trying to get the ruffles on her suit to sway.You couldn't have blessed her more and in doing so, you have blessed me. Thank you so much! "

- Foster mom in Calhoun County

"The children were so excited to have a towel with their name monogrammed. For many of them, these towels are the only thing that they have ever had which was personalized just for them. Even the older teenagers wanted me to let you know how much your gift meant to them."

- Dallas County Service Supervisor

And here are a few pics from the drive.

We also just finished an awesome week of kid's camp at BigHouse! We were blessed to have Danna Coffey, a preschool teacher from Atlanta who loves science, prepare an awesome week of experiments for our kids! We also had some fun afternoon adventures to Storybook Farms, mini-golf, and swimming! Here are some pics from our fantastic week!

We have also been incredibly BLESSED with some terrific interns this summer! It is so clear to me God knew exactly what we needed when He directed these wonderful girls paths to BigHouse. They are such awesome young women with big plans to make life better for those in their community! We are loving having their energy, ideas, and brains helping at BigHouse this summer. Here's a little bit about them... (i totally jacked their fb info without asking...)

Gina Henderson

I'm 23.
I go to Auburn University; I'm a Social Work major.
I pretty much love my life; it rocks.

"Let patience have her perfect work that ye may be perfect and entire wanting nothing" - James 1:4

Erin Hutchins

Grad. Student at Auburn in Business Administration, non-profit management

I am rare, precious, trustworthy, kind, disciplined, energetic, diligent, compassionate, generous, industrious, influential, poised, wise, distinguished..I am a Proverbs 31 woman

Shealy White

Senior at Furman University in Human Services and Faith- Poverty Studies

"shed a little sunshine in the heart of one, that one is cheered to pass it on,

and so My vitalizing joy-giving message goes..."

We have many things on the horizon at BigHouse... I am going to make a conscious effort to keep the blog up to date! Please also check out our website for more info about BigHouse!

www.ourbighouse.org

-m

Belk Charity Event Tickets!!!

2011-03-31T07:49:00.000-07:00

BigHouse is selling $5.00 Belk Charity Sale tickets for the April 16th sale at Colonial Mall. BigHouse will keep 100% of the tickets we sell, so it's a great way to support BigHouse and your wallet!!! Discounts from 20%-70% across the store and on many items not usually discounted! Plus, you get $5.00 OFF your purchase, so you basically get your money back!

Details:

Belk Charity Sale

Saturday, April 16th from 6:00am- 10:00am

Colonial Mall in Auburn

Tickets: $5.00

Purchase tickets through BigHouse!

Email bighousefoundation@hotmail.com or call 334-363-2634 for more info!

Here we gooooooooo!!!

2011-02-23T11:52:00.000-08:00

We are ordering our posters and getting ready to hit the ground running with our swimsuit and towel drive! If YOU want to request some posters to hang up at your church, school or workplace, or if you want more info about hosting a collection or being a drop off location- email us at bighousefoundation@hotmail.com!

Calling all hoarders...

2011-02-07T13:16:00.000-08:00

Are you a hoarder?

Do you have too much stuff?

Do you want help getting rid of it?

Would you like it to go to a good cause?

If so, consider making a donation to our BigHouse Yard Sale on March 5th!

We will be collecting donations at BigHouse from Feb. 28th-March 4th. If you need to get rid of these things prior to Feb. 28th, please let us know and we will work something out!

Also, if you love pricing, organizing, or working yard sales, WE NEED YOU!

Email us at bighousefoundation@hotmail.com for more info!!

We are raising money to continue helping foster families in Lee County! If you can't donate, COME SHOP!!! :)

We're back!

2011-01-25T09:49:00.000-08:00

BigHouse is back to the land of the wired... we took a hiatus from our online activities this fall, but now...

our twitter account is up...

our blog is being updated...

our website has been and will continue to update and change...

and our facebook fanpage is growing!

Thanks to all the friends we already have in the "online world", and we look forward to making new ones!

Here's a brief schedule of upcoming events... watch for detailed blogs about each coming soon!

March 1st- Summer Intern Application deadline... go here for more details!

March 5th- BH yard sale (Donate items during the week of Feb 28th- March 4th if possible)

April 1st-30th STATEWIDE Swimsuit and Towel Drive... More info coming VERY soon!!!

May 14th- Packaging Party for Swimsuit Drive

June 4th- Kids for Kids Lemonade Stands

This Summer:

2 Weeks of BigHouse Day Camps

Family Beach Trip

Thanks for your support of BigHouse! It feels good to be back! ;)

It's August!!!

2010-08-02T20:37:00.000-07:00

Is anyone else out there SHOCKED that it is already August?? Although we are very excited to begin the fall and start our after-school program, we still have ALOT to do!!! We are currently registering families and signing up volunteers. Here's some quick info about the after-school program at BigHouse:

-Serves any children residing in a Lee County Foster Home (Foster, Adopted, Biological, or Custody)

-Runs from 3-6pm on Monday, Tuesday and Thursday

-Begins with Family Orientation the week of August 16th

-Provides Tutoring, Art, Dance, Music, and Sports free of charge to foster families!

-Needs volunteers who can commit to as little as one hour or as much as 9 hours a week to help with Tutoring, Art, Dance, Music, and Sports.

If you would like to volunteer, support us financially, or register your family, go to our website!

Also- we have some EXCITING news!! We now have a real staff! We are happy to introduce Susannah Jones as our 1st official BigHouse staffer!!!

Here is a little bit about Susannah...

Susannah is a native of Fairview, Tennessee who we met in school at the University of Alabama. She received a degree in Music Therapy and has been working in North Georgia as a Music Therapist for the past year. She is now the Program Director at BigHouse and will not only coordinate our after-school program, she will teach music classes and conduct music therapy sessions! We are thrilled to have her and thankful that God has blessed us with her help!

To read more about her life and experience, check out her blog!

Here is a pic of Sus and our baby Anderson!

Online Volunteer Application!

2010-06-28T11:19:00.000-07:00

Want to get involved at BigHouse?? You can now apply online!

We are looking for volunteers for everything from our after school program to administrative help! If you want to get involved just fill out the form and we will contact you soon!

Volunteer Application

If you are interested in volunteering we hope to hear from you soon!!

Vote for BigHouse!

2010-06-28T09:06:00.000-07:00

I want to remind everyone about voting for BigHouse! We are competing in the Chase Community Giving Contest sponsored through Facebook. We need everyone's vote! We have 14 days left remaining in the contest and we are falling behind. The voting process is very easy.

To vote, go to the Chase Community Giving page on Facebook and click the "like" button. Once you have done that, you can start voting. You only have to vote once! We are ranked at 177 and we need to be in the top 200 to be able to recieve the $20,000 grant. Please vote and help spread the word!

The Story of BigHouse from the very beginning…

2010-06-22T13:11:00.001-07:00

My parents became foster parents in January 2007, taking in a sibling group of 5. This was my first experience with foster care, simply because before my parents became foster parents, I didn’t know of any other families who did foster care. I had heard of the foster care system, I had heard of kids being moved from homes multiple times, being abused by their foster parents and the other horror stories that the media picks up, but I didn’t have any type of personal experience with foster care. That changed overnight. I became one of four “biological” children of foster parents who to the world had lost their mind. They had taken in 5 children, all siblings, who had already been in care for a year. These children needed everything my parents could possibly offer. They had physical needs that must be met, as well as serious emotional, cognitive, and spiritual needs that had been neglected since birth. The age range of the children didn’t make parenting them any easier. They were 12, 10, 6, 4, and 2. This was completely overwhelming to my parents and teenage brothers. But they survived on faith and the help of some awesome friends and family. They had people donate clothes for the kids, build a play yard in the back yard, babysit for free, and even help with schoolwork. With out this support from their friends, the battles my parents faced in that first year may have been more than any family could handle. Over time, it became apparent that the older two children needed more attention than was possible in a family group this large, and they were placed in other more appropriate placements. But the three youngest, all girls, are now officially part of our family. On December 21^st, 2009, they legally became my three younger sisters.

I tell all this to give some background on how BigHouse came about. When my parents became foster parents, I had just gotten married (less than a week before) and was a student at the University of Alabama. Even though I was 3 hours from home, I was still involved in my family’s struggle adapting to this new life. It wouldn’t be until a year later that I would realize what God was showing me through this experience with my family. During a college worship service, the speaker handed out strips of towel to represent the cloth used when Jesus washed the disciples feet. He then challenged us to tie the cloth to our backpacks and continually pray for God to reveal who our people group was to us. Who were we meant to serve? I did just that, and I still remember the excited call home I made to my mom the spring of 2008 when I was walking across campus with my strip of towel. I knew I was supposed to help foster families. I was writing a speech for my public speaking class, and I had chosen to write it on foster care. I was amazed at the statistics of how hard it was for children in foster care to succeed. They just had so much stacked against them, and without the support of a whole group of adults, they had almost no chance. The old adage “it takes a village to raise a child” really rang true. But unfortunately the village was turning a blind eye to the plight of children in care. In a conversation with a dear friend about the heartbreaking statistics I had found, she stated that foster children needed a “make a wish”. That turned a switch in my head. I know God had her speak those words for a reason.

Over the next 6 months, we talked and talked and talked about what we needed to do. We prayed that God would show us how we could make this dream to help foster children a reality. We decided on the name BigHouse from the Audio Adrenaline song “Big House”. It was the song my parents played for their kids the first week they came into their home, and it was on repeat from that day forward. The words could not have been any more appropriate for children in foster care. It talks about how even if you don’t have a mom or dad, or a home of your own, God has a place for you at his home- Heaven. We wanted to make BigHouse a place where foster children felt at home, a place where they truly belonged and felt loved. We thought maybe one day in the far off future we would really have a house somewhere to house our programs.

In November 2008, my dad called me and mentioned that he had driven by a big, old, boarded up, antebellum home in Opelika that had been moved from downtown to some property on the edge of town a few years earlier. He told me how he drove by the house, then turned around and went back. He felt like God was telling him to stop and take a look. He walked around the property and prayed about what God was trying to tell him. He then did some detective work to find out who owned the house. He finally got the name and phone number of the owner, and decided to give her a call. He asked her if she had any plans for her house on Andrews Road. Assuming he was just another developer who wanted the land, she told him she had no plans to sell the house, and that she would like for it to be used for some type of ministry for families. I am not positive, but I think my dad’s jaw probably hit the floor. He explained to her a little bit about what we wanted to do with BigHouse, and that we needed a house to do it. She loved the idea and agreed to meet with us and talk. We met with her at the end of December 2008, and began working on a plan to turn the house into BigHouse. The only problem with the house was the condition it was in. It had been moved and placed on this land almost 8 years earlier. It had then been vandalized, with most of the windows broken out, which made it completely open to the elements. The owners lived out of town, so the house suffered a lot of damage before they were aware of the vandalism and were able to board it up. They were in the position to begin repairing and restoring the home, but had been unable to move forward with the restoration because they lived out of town. We felt like we could definitely help them in this process by locating reputable people to get the job done. We also had the means to recruit volunteers in the area to cut down on costs of labor. So we worked out an agreement that we could use the house for free if we could help them restore the house! What an amazing and exciting offer! We began this plan in 2009, and had many groups come out to the house and work on restoring it. This was so exciting for us, because people really understood and saw the vision God had given us when they saw the house. Unfortunately, the owner of the house‘s own home was severely damaged by a hurricane. This put a hold on the money they were able to put into the house. As much as we wanted to continue restoring the house, the estimates were upwards of $500,000 and we did not have the resources to make that happen. We finally decided that we would look for a space we could rent and go ahead and begin serving our families. Although we are not using it currently, we still feel like this home has a connection to BigHouse, and we hope we will work with them in the future.

As hard as it was to let go of the house, we really feel like we are moving in the right direction by switching our focus from the place to the people. God had blessed this decision by providing an awesome home for use to rent at an incredible price-$500 a month for a 3500sqft house! And we have been given 3 months of free rent while we are still getting moved in… so we will not actually begin paying rent until April. We have already begun preparing the house to be used for BigHouse, and the space will serve our purpose so well. We have had a fully stocked clothes closet in Opelika since December 2008, and we have provided the families in the Lee County foster care system the opportunity to come and shop for new and gently used clothing for free. This has been really well received and we are excited to have a new clothes closet at our new location. We also have space for an office, and rooms devoted to art, music, dance, tutoring, and reading. We are now gearing up to begin our full afterschool program this fall.

After being in school at Alabama, my husband and I are both really excited to be back in Opelika, where we grew up. We love this community and we hope BigHouse will have a lasting effect on the children who grow up in foster care in Lee County.

Don't Hate, Donate!

2010-06-16T11:20:00.000-07:00

Donation needs:
Art Room: new flooring (tile, laminate); easels; art supplies; aprons; tables and chairs/stools; large bulletin board
Reading Room: television; DVD player; lamps; end tables; floor rug; puzzles, games and books
Music Room: additional instruments; storage cabinets; lamps; coffee table and end tables; floor rug; music stands
Dance Room: large mirrors for walls; dance bar; leotards, tights, and dance shoes; stereo system/CD player
Tutoring Room: tables and chairs; desks; computers; printer; school supplies; educational games and other learning aids and flashcards
Kitchen and Dining Room: new floors; new appliances (oven, dishwasher); plates and cups; utensils; tables and chairs; serving dishes and utensils
If you have any of these items, and feel like donating them, please just call BigHouse at (334) 363-2634

Chase What Matters

2010-06-16T09:42:00.000-07:00

BigHouse matters! We have entered the Chase Community Giving Contest sponsered through Facebook. We need your votes, of course! Everyone is only allowed one vote per charity, but you can give gift votes to others so that someone else can vote for us twice. Even if you aren't on Facebook, make a one! If you have something against Facebook, get over it for a few weeks, you can delete it afterwards. Think of the children (yes, I am guilt tripping you). Please vote for us, we need this grant to keep running our programs. The top two hundred charities win, and we can most certainly make that happen. After all, we had to get the top ten for the Pepsi Refresh Project, which we did, so top two hundred is going to be a breeze for us, but ONLY if you vote!! So go and get a Facebook account, or log onto your own account and vote. And send gift votes and then tell your friends to vote, your neighbors, you employees, your employers, the people holding signs outside of businesses, the woman at the yard sale, the U.P.S. man, anyone who has the ablility to vote, tell them. And yes, I realize that was a run-on sentence. Anyway, go and vote right now, click on the link below and vote, vote, vote!!! How to vote: log into your facebook account; go to the BigHouse page and click on the Chase link and vote; then post it to your wall so that other people in your network can vote!

written by: Erin Slay (summer intern)

It's been awhile~

2010-06-14T09:09:00.000-07:00

Once again we have fallen behind on updating the blog. Sorry guys!

Here is a quick recap of the latest BigHouse news...

In April we competed for a Pepsi Refresh grant and WON! BigHouse received a $25,000 grant from Pepsi to run our after school program this year! We have a lot to do this summer to get prepared, but we are so excited to get started! Thanks to EVERYONE who voted... we had to be in the top ten at midnight on the last day, and we finished 9th! We just barely hung on but that is all that matters! Every vote counted!

In May we wrapped up our collections for the swimsuit and towel drive this year! We had a very successful drive and collected over 100 swimsuits! Very exciting! Thanks to everyone in the community who participated, and thanks to OLD NAVY for offering incentives to their customers who donated suits!!!

We are now in full swing summer mode, which means lots of work on our building. We are working hard getting the rooms ready for the fall programs. This means we are cleaning, painting, moving furniture, building shelves, and cleaning up the backyard. Our goal is to have a fence and outdoor play area in place by this fall in addition to our indoor space.

We are also excited to have the help of some young people this summer as our summer interns! They are helping us get little and big projects completed so that we can be ready for the fall! They will be working hard at BigHouse on Mondays, Tuesdays, and Wednesdays! Thanks guys!

That's a quick update of what's happening... more to come, soon I hope!

Are you voting?

2010-04-19T18:53:00.000-07:00

Cast Member's of Oliver at OHS are!

Please remember to vote through the end of the month!!!

www.refresheverything.com/bighouse

WE NEED YOUR HELP!!!

2010-04-04T19:06:00.000-07:00

BigHouse really needs your help this month! We are in the running for a $25,000 Pepsi Refresh Grant, and we need YOU to vote for us to get it!!! We need to be in the top 10 by April 30th at midnight, so we everyone to vote everyday now through the end of the month.

To vote, go to www.refresheverything.com/bighouse and sign in with an email address. You can then vote once a day per idea, and up to 10 ideas a day. Winning a $25,000 grant will enable us to start our after school programs this fall and provide the foster children in Lee County amazing opportunities.

PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE VOTE! And please vote daily!

Spread the word!

Latest BigHouse Addition!

2010-03-14T18:44:00.000-07:00

Here's the latest BigHouse addition... Anderson Brooks Melnick! He was born Saturday, March 13th at 12:05pm. He is healthy and beautiful! We are so thankful for God's sweet blessings!

What a difference a workday makes!

2010-03-12T12:18:00.000-08:00

We have completed one of three scheduled Saturday work days so far, and it made such a difference already! Thanks so much to the My Jerusalem group from Fairview Baptist Church for helping us out!!Here are some Before and After pics... and hopefully after this weekend we will have even more to post! If you have a group of friends, co-workers, or sunday school class that would like to volunteer one afternoon or a Saturday morning, let us know! We would love to put you to work! Email us at info@ourbighouse.org

Before:

After:

Before:

After:

Before:

After:

More Pictures to come after this weekend! Stay Tuned... :)

What's Happening in March!

2010-03-04T19:22:00.000-08:00

We have some exciting BigHouse events happening in March. Here's a quick update of what is to come this month-

March 6th- We are excited to have a group from My Jerusalem and the OHS Key Club coming to work at BigHouse! We will be doing yard work and organizing donations for the clothes closet!

March 8th- We have our 3rd Leadership Meeting... Anyone can come and join our leadership team! We will be working on details for the swimsuit drive and other spring events!

March 13th- Cornerstone Methodist Church workday. They are building out shelving and hanging units for our clothes closet!

March 22nd- Leadership meeting!

March 28th- Kick-off for our Swimsuit and Towel Drive!!!

March 29th- Chick-fil-a Spirit night! Come join us for dinner and donate your receipt. 20% of the receipt totals comes straight to us!!

Throughout the month of March we will be working on ways to get people geared up to vote for BigHouse during the month of April for a $25,000 Pepsi Refresh Everything grant! Check out our submission video, and begin spreading the word! We will continue to remind people to vote every day April 1st-30th!!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dh_kvLQI0W0

Oh and March is also a big month for Blake and I personally... We are expecting our first baby March 20th! Please keep us and BigHouse in your prayers this spring!!!

HO,HO,HO... We had a very Merry Christmas!

2010-03-03T10:21:00.000-08:00

This year, BigHouse had the privilege of hosting the Christmas party for all the foster families in Lee County. We decided to host a Breakfast with Santa! It was a huge success and a really fun time for everyone. Our breakfast was in downtown Opelika at the Train Depot, a fun setting for our event! We were fortunate enough to have Huddle House of Opelika come and make waffles for the families.

Santa himself also made an appearance, much to the delight of the kids! We also gave out presents to each child who came, as well as goodie bags, hats, scarves, gloves, and books from the Auburn Literacy Council! We had door prizes for kids and adults, and OLD NAVY made it possible for each set of foster parents to get a gift card for dinner at Outback. It really was a great time for the families and would not have been possible without the help of the following businesses, groups, and individuals:

Old Navy

Huddle House

Chick-Fil-A

First United Methodist Church, Opelika

Union Grove Baptist Church, Opelika

First Baptist Church, Canton, Ga

Auburn Literacy Council

Opelika Arts Association

OMS Student Council

Outback Steakhouse

Logan's Roadhouse

Lee County Schools

The Blossom Shop

Dennis Stiff, Alfa Agent

Susannah Jones

Who doesn't like Chick Fil A??

2010-03-03T10:06:00.000-08:00

I know I love Chick Fil A! And for more reasons than the yummy food (I am now hungry just thinking about it)... Chick Fil A is an incredible corporation whose founder Truitt Cathy is truly an inspiration! He has created multiple programs to help and heal the child, family, and marriage. But more than that, he has instilled in his corporation the sense of giving back to their communities.

We have been fortunate enough to have 2 Chick Fil A Spirit nights so far, with one more on the calendar for March 29th! At the BigHouse Spirit nights, we encourage people to donate their receipt from their order at Chick Fil A that evening, and then Chick Fil A gives us 20% of the total donated receipts! Pretty sweet deal for us! We just try to convince all our friends, neighbors, coworkers, and complete strangers to support BigHouse that night by eating Chick Fil A! We had a great night in August, and an even better one in February! Here are some pics from our spirit nights!

Loaves and Fishes...

2010-03-03T09:53:00.000-08:00

Our Clothes closet is like the story in the Bible about the loaves and fishes... It seems like it never runs out of what we need. Now occasionally, we will have a size or two that get low- especially in little boy sizes, but we can almost always provide something for the child!

An example of this is our Back to School Clothing Blitz in August. We were able to help over 50 children get ready to go back to school by providing much needed clothing! The kids came and looked through the racks, finding clothes they liked and would be proud to wear to school. The amazing part was that we seemed to have just enough for each child in each size to provide what they needed! We tried to get around 5 completely outfits for each child, not including shoes, pajamas, or accessories like belts, purses, and jewelry. The BEST part was seeing the excitement on the kids faces when they tried on an outfit that looked great and that they were proud to wear! Our clothes closet has been a great resource for the foster families, and we continue to receive quality donations everyday! Please think of us when you clean out your children's closet. We accept all sizes of children's clothing in good condition!

We had a Pool Party... 9 months ago!

2010-03-03T09:39:00.000-08:00

First let me start this blog entry with a HUGE apology. I may get an award for being the worst "blog-updater" ever! I have completely neglected the BigHouse blog, but hopefully not anymore. I can't promise I'll be updating everyday, but I am going to strive for at least once a week! I think I can handle that!

My first update of the past 9 months or so is about our pool party we had way back in June! After ending our Swimsuit and Towel Drive (which was a great success, we collected over 65 suits and towels!) we had a pool party to kick off the summer! The kids enjoyed cupcakes, diving boards and just swimming and playing together! The parents enjoyed a night of adult conversation with others who truly "get" what they are going through every day!

We are now about to kick off our 2nd annual swimsuit drive, which will run March 28th- May 1st 2010! We accept new swimsuits and new towels so spread the word and check out the cute suits next time you are shopping!!!

Alabama Birthday Wish

2009-06-14T09:38:00.000-07:00

This past Sunday, I had the opportunity to attend a birthday party in Montgomery celebrating Alabama's foster children's birthdays. Three children were invited to attend from each county, and my little sisters were representing Lee County. The event was orchestrated by a new group called Alabama Birthday Wish and their goal was to raise money to give each child in foster care $25.00 for their birthday.

They had cake, ice cream, inflatable slides, arts and crafts, face painting, a puppet show and a one act play performed by Birmingham's children's theater. It was fun, but it was REALLY hot.

To start the party, Alabama's first lady Patsy Riley said a few words about how important it is to take care of our foster children. She even teared up while speaking. Then Governor Riley spoke a small bit, and the party began. We were able to meet the governor and take a picture with him, and later I had the opportunity to tell him about BigHouse. He was really supportive and encouraging. To read my mom's account of the afternoon, click here.

We are finally TAX EXEMPT!!

2009-06-04T18:02:00.001-07:00

We found out today that the IRS has reviewed our application to become a legal tax exempt non profit. They approved us!!! We were so excited to get the news from our accountant. The truly amazing part is that we were told it could take months, and we got ours back in less than 5 weeks!!! What a God thing. This is just another example of His hand in all of this... nothing man could control- only GOD!

What does having our 501c3 tax exempt status mean? It means we can now accept monetary donations that can be written off on your taxes. This is such a blessing for BigHouse. This status also qualifies us to receive government grant money, corporate donations, and other exciting opportunities. Please prayerfully consider whether you could support BigHouse financially at this time.

We are also starting our awareness campaign this summer, in which we will visit different churches to share what BigHouse is about and ask for their support- financially and spiritually.

If your church is interested in learning more about BigHouse, email us at info@ourbighouse.org.

BigHouse Info Video!!

2009-05-27T12:50:00.000-07:00

Our BigHouse Video is done! Check it out!
BigHouse Video
Thanks to Chris Kelsey with Kelsey Creative Media, Jana Calano, Stan and Kelly Cox, and Jan Burke.

the time has come...

2009-05-25T19:36:00.000-07:00

tomorrow is the beginning of the rest of my life...

sound overly dramatic? maybe a bit, but tomorrow officially begins my life as BigHouse Director and beyond. For anyone who may not know, I graduated from the University of Alabama on May 9th. I was then blessed enough to go to the beach with friends and Orlando with my husband's family. I spent this weekend reading Harry Potter, taking naps (pathetic I know), and cooking out with friends for Memorial Day. Basically, I gave myself 2 weeks off to relax, chill, have no school/no stress and genuinely be a lazy bum. It was really hard. I have always wanted to have nothing to do but of course once I finally got it I didn't enjoy it as much as I thought. I have found I need structure, a bit of stress, and a lot of work to do to get anything done.

This is why I am ready for tomorrow. Tomorrow is the beginning of "Hi, I'm Micah Melnick, Director of BigHouse".

I know this probably sounds stupid, especially since I have been "doing" BigHouse stuff since November, but I really have not felt comfortable saying those words yet. I have always felt like that was another part of my life that would begin later... After I graduated or something. Well... I am finally ready to say those words and know they are true! I gotta admit I am really excited about this.

I am going to try and commit myself to blogging about this phase of BigHouse more. People are always telling me I should journal about these beginning days of BigHouse. Well I hate to journal. I can't seem to write to myself... it kinda makes me feel crazy. Blogging however, allows me to at least pretend like others would read this, and I don't feel quite as loony while writing it.

Ok so back to BigHouse. As of tomorrow, it will be my almost full time job (I have three more weeks of working part time at the job I have had all through college.) Then, after June 18th, BigHouse will be my full time job. This is very exciting and very intimidating and scary. I feel prepared to interact with the kids and come up with cool things for them to do, but I have little experience running an organization. I was a double major in art and human development... i mean really...

Thankfully, I have some really awesome people helping me along the way. Our BigHouse board has been awesome at helping me know what to do and how to do it so far. I have to give a HUGE shout out to Jana Burns Calano- quite possibly the most driven person I know. She is brilliant and such a blessing. It is no coincidence she and her husband Mike(equally as awesome) are on our board- God totally knew what he was doing. Our family and friends have also been incredibly supportive and encouraging. I appreciate their guidance more than they will ever realize. Of course, Blake (my husband) has been more incredible in this endeavor than I thought any spouse could be. From the moment I began talking to him about the idea of helping foster children, he has been 100% on board. He has listened to me, encouraged me, and even challenged me to think bigger. We share the dream of BigHouse, which makes it so much easier than going it alone. I love to hear him share a new idea he has about BigHouse. His hard work and dedication have made it possible for me to pursue my dream full time. What a gift!

This week not only marks a beginning to my new career, it will also be the first time we have a BigHouse sponsored "event". BigHouse volunteers and I will be providing childcare for the Foster Parent Appreciation, hosted by DHR. I have finally been able to email some of the people who have contacted me and said they want to help with BigHouse, and give them an opportunity! This is our first official interaction with the foster parents and children. I am really excited. We will begin building relationships with the parents, the kids, and the volunteers on Thursday! This will be the first event of the summer and we are already working out details for other events for the whole family.

Ok, so that is just a bit of what is in my head now on paper... or the internet...

2009-04-30T21:27:00.000-07:00

MAY is National Foster Care Awareness Month! I wanted to share some statistics about the foster care system. These are national statistics from fostercaremonth.org.

National Facts About Children in Foster Care

Total Population:
513,000 children were in the U.S. foster care system on September 30, 2005. Most children are placed temporarily in foster care due to parental abuse or neglect.

Age:
Average Age: 10.0 years

6%	<>
26%	1-5 years
20%	6-10 years
28%	11-15 years
18%	16-18 years
2%	>19 years

Gender:

Male	52%
Female	48%

Race and Ethnicity:
As a percentage, there are more children of color in the foster care system than in the general U.S. population. However, child abuse and neglect occur at about the same rate in all racial/ethnic groups.

Race/Ethnicity	In out-of-home care	In general population
Black (non-Hispanic)	32%	15%
White (non-Hispanic)	41%	61%
Hispanic	18%	17%
Am. Indian/Alaska Native (non-Hispanic)	2%	1%
Asian/Pacific Islander (non-Hispanic)	1%	3%
Unknown	2%	N/A
2 or More Races (non-Hispanic)	3%	4%

Length of Stay
For the children in foster care on September 30, 2005, the average amount of time they had been in the system was 28.6 months. Half of those leaving care that year had been away from home for a year or longer. 54% of the young people leaving the system were reunified with their birth parents or primary caregivers.

Foster Homes
In 2004, there was a total of 153,000 licensed/certified/approved kinship and non-relative foster homes nationwide. In 2005, 24% of youth living foster care were residing with their relatives.

Adoptions
In 2005, 60% of adopted children were adopted by their foster parent(s). The "foster parent" category excludes anyone identified as a relative of the child. 25% of children adopted in FY 2005 were adopted by a relative. A "relative" includes a step-parent or other relative of the child.

Siblings and Extended Families
Over 2 million American children live with grandparents or other relatives because their parents cannot care for them. When relatives provide foster care (known as kinship care), siblings can often stay together. Kinship care also improves stability by keeping displaced children closer to their extended families, their neighborhoods, and their schools.

Youth in Transition
Each year, an estimated 20,000 young people "age out" of the U.S. foster care system. Many are only 18 years old and still need support and services. Several foster care alumni studies show that without a lifelong connection to a caring adult, these older youth are often left vulnerable to a host of adverse situations:

Outcomes	National	Regional or Local
Earned a high school diploma	54%	50% - 63%
Obtained a Bachelor's degree or higher	2%	2%
Became a parent	84%	42%
Were unemployed	51%	30%
Had no health insurance	30%	29%
Had been homeless	25%	36%
Were receiving public assistance	30%	26%

During May, we especially want to thank our Foster Parents who have given their lives to take care of these children. They are truly the hands and feet of Christ and are living James 1:27 every day. The service they provide for our community is immeasurable! If you know a foster parent, tell them thank you, give them a hug, or even better, babysit for them or do their laundry!!! Find a way to appreciate the incredibly hard job they do day in and day out!!

We also want to thank our Social Workers, Teachers, Therapists, Judges, Lawyers, and other professionals in social services for the hard work they do every day to help foster children. It truly does take a village to raise a child!!!

Update on Swimsuit Drive:

We are still collecting new swimsuits and beach towels through May. We really need more towels, so if you would still like to contribute, please consider donating a towel! All the towels will be monogrammed with the child's name!

Panel Discussion

2009-04-23T10:42:00.000-07:00

Blake and I were invited to speak to a new group of foster parents at a panel discussion Monday night. It was really encouraging to see people going through training to become foster parents. I think there were at least 7 new homes represented at this meeting. We were really excited to share with these future foster families about BigHouse. They were all very receptive to us and encouraged that someone will be taking care of them as they take care of foster children. Our hope is that BigHouse will encourage more people to get involved in foster care, and that our community will support these families in every way possible. Thanks to Allison at DHR for inviting us!

Also, we interviewed yesterday with a writer for The Crimson White, our university's newspaper. It went really well and we are so excited to share our story with our school. I'm not sure when the article will be published, but I will link it to our blog!

Clothes Closet Swimsuit Drive!

2009-04-14T11:12:00.000-07:00

The BigHouse Clothes Closet is sponsoring a swimsuit drive this spring! We will be collecting new children's swimsuits and beach towels for our BigHouse kids. We are collecting boys and girls swimsuits in all sizes.

Please help us provide a summer necessity to the foster children of Lee County. We will be collecting swimsuits through the end of May.

In Opelika, please drop off donations at our clothes closet, 221 S. 8th St., Opelika, AL 36801.
On the University of Alabama's campus, you can drop off donations at the Wesley Foundation, 505 9th St., Tuscaloosa, AL 35401.

If you have any other questions, please feel free to email me at director@ourbighouse.org.

-micah

2009-03-31T12:05:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, the UA Department of Art and Art History, along with a couple other groups on campus, had Victoria Rowell, dancer, actress and author, come and give a lecture as a part of the Paul R. Jones Lecture Series.(more on who Paul R. Jones shortly). Victoria is also A FORMER FOSTER CHILD, and an incredible advocate for foster care and adoption. When I recieved an email stating she was coming to Alabama, I nearly fell out of my chair. I was so excited to hear her speak and I was hoping I might get to at least say hello! I emailed my art history professor, Dr. Amaki, who happened to be in charge of this lecture, and asked if I could possibly meet Victoria and share with her what we are doing with BigHouse. Next thing I know, Blake and I are at a private Luncheon with Victoria and Paul R. Jones, as well as some other professors and administrators at Alabama. What an incredible honor! We introduced ourselves to her, and when I finished telling her about my family and BigHouse, she gave me a hug! I haven't met many "celebrities", but she has to be the most down to earth, gracious celebrity there is. I gave her a brochure and my business card(which I proudly designed myself!). She signed my copy of her book(which is incredible and you should all read it!) and gave me her personal card!!! How awesome! Before we left, we also got an opportunity to talk to Paul R. Jones, who is probably in his 80's, but doesn't miss a beat. He recently gave UA a collection of art worth 4.5 million dollars. We told him who we were and a little about BigHouse, to which he replied "I'll have to come down and visit ya'll sometime, Opelika is not far from Atlanta at all." uh-OK! We told him to come anytime he wants to!

After we left the luncheon, I was so excited that we got to meet her and give her our card. I was just hoping that God would use that in the future, reminding her somehow of that couple she met at Alabama who had a big dream. Well, God is a much bigger dreamer than I am, and I know He has much bigger dreams for BigHouse than I can even fathom.

Monday evening, I went early to work the book table before Victoria's Lecture. I was just helping Dr, Amaki and paying my "dues" for getting such an awesome opportunity earlier in the day. I had already decided I was going to get a few more copies of her book for my mom and BigHouse, and I told Dr. Amaki I wanted to go ahead and buy them before so I could have her sign them afterward. She said I should go with her to the reception room where Victoria was and go ahead and have them signed. Well, ok, that would be great! Right before we walked back to the reception, my friend Lauren walked up to the table and bought a book. I asked Dr. Amaki if she could come get her copy signed too, and she said sure. We walked into the reception, and there were about 5 people waiting to get a book signed by Victoria. When it was our turn, Victoria said "Hey, I have all your info you gave me in my briefcase :)". I was just glad she recognized me from earlier. I don't really remember what happened next, but Lauren and I talked to her about BigHouse for at least 10 minutes. She asked us tons of questions, and she seemed genuinely interested in what we were doing. Then she said she wanted to come back to Alabama for a week in the fall, and she wanted to work it out to come to Opelika and help us with BigHouse- I nearly hit the floor...
She even mentioned BigHouse in her speech!

The whole day was just a GOD-THING. It is so clear He had His hands in it... At the end of the night, when I was recapping my exciting experience of the whole process of BigHouse with Dr, Amaki, she said "God is all in this thing... I don't wanna even know what kinda stuff ya'll are gonna be doing in 5 years!" Well, I am pretty sure I couldn't even dream it up!!!

"Now to Him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to His power that is at work within us, to Him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen."Eph. 3:20-21

Building a DREAM!!!

2009-03-30T12:25:00.000-07:00

We hosted a group from UA's Wesley Foundation over spring break. They worked on the house, re-vamped the clothes closet, and had a kids camp. The week was incredible. Thanks for all the prayers! There are some photos from the week above. We got tons of work done! We also had the opportunity to introduce the students to foster families in Opelika. Meeting the families and playing with the kids was a great experience for our group. They were able to see first hand the families their contribution to BigHouse would help.

Hannah Sewell led worship each night with Seth and Matthan Brown, and we had speakers from our community as well. A big thanks to Stan and Kelly Cox and Michael and Angie Brown for being INCREDIBLE all week. They helped with food, speakers, work on the house, and talking to the students about their lives as foster parents. Also, a huge thanks to Alexia Frazier and Kathy Ward for providing us dinner and sharing their own insight into foster families. The Fraziers have fostered OVER 500 children!!! We were also thankful to have the support of Lee County DHR! Thanks to all the directors and social workers who came to the cook-out and to see the house. Jan Burke, Carolyn Hunter, Sheila Godfrey, Yolanda Ratchford, Allison Foster, and many others who came to support BigHouse. We are really proud that they want to help us!

We are also excited to work closely in the future with Shane Kyles and The Way ministries. He came and shared his experience with our group, and his vision for helping those in the Lee County area.

Many others contributed to our trip by providing meals for the group. Michael and Ellen Melnick, Jill Long, Denise Hankins, Leann Tyer, Tiffany Cook and her Sunday School Class, and the Foster Parent Association. Others who helped make this trip possible are Jeff and Lisa Skinner, Jason and Lisa Smith, Susan Rudd, Pam Coxwell, Terri Neighbors, and Britney Finley. A special thanks to the Confirmation class at First United Methodist Church in Opelika for volunteering to help at our clothes closet during their spring break! Tim Gore and Victory Designs, we LOVE our T-shirts, and will hopefully be needing many more in the future! A big thank you to Opelika High School, for allowing use of their gym floor to sleep on, as well as First Baptist Church for letting us use their youth building each night!

I would also like to thank others who helped us working on the house! Roger Broom, Megan and Adam Dimon, and Kara Leigh Pritchard all came and pitched in during the week. Billy Smith, a professional painter, not only volunteered his knowledge and expertise to help us with the painting, he spent many hours that week at the house stripping doors and molding. A big thanks to all of them!

I am also incredibly grateful to our friends at the Wesley Foundation! They gave up a relaxing spring break to come and work at BigHouse. They are so supportive of our dream, and it is clear through their actions! Thank you all for believing in us and wanting to be a part of it!

Spring Break is coming soon!

2009-02-25T19:11:00.000-08:00

Wow- I can't believe it is almost March! We will have a group from the Wesley Foundation at the University of Alabama coming to help with the renovations during their spring break. I am really excited to share the dream God gave us with so many of our friends.

During the week, we will have worship each night and a speaker. Please pray that God will use this time to really speak to our group. Our goal is to strengthen the relationships our group has with each other and the Lord. Our "theme" for the week is about realizing and building our God-given dreams. We greatly appreciate our friends giving up their spring break to help us realize our God-given dream.

We are focusing on Ephesians 3:20-21, "Now to Him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to His power that is at work within us, to Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever, Amen."

What a powerful verse! How appropriate for BigHouse and spring break. I love that He can do more than we even imagine, because, it seems so often we put Him in a box. Honestly, three months ago I could not imagine the plan God had for BigHouse; I was hoping to find a hole in the wall office where I could collect some clothes and donations and help a few families. He had much greater plans- Plans for BigHouse to have a BIG HOUSE, where children can feel safe, loved, and comfortable. A place for foster families to receive support; physically, financially, and especially emotionally. Wow- God had much bigger plans! And just as Paul told the Ephesians, TO HIM BE THE GLORY!

Pictures of the future BigHouse

2009-02-20T14:38:00.001-08:00

This is the future BigHouse! Just a couple pics of the before! We can't wait to upload the after pics!

BigHouse has a BIG HOUSE!!!

2009-02-20T07:35:00.000-08:00

Wow, alot has happened since June. BigHouse is now an official organization! We are working with our accountant to get our 501c3 tax status for non profits. We hope to get this status later this year, the process takes around 6 months. We are also working with the owners of the historic Frederick house in Opelika. The house was moved from downtown Opelika to Andrews Rd. 8 years ago, and has been empty since. The house was vandalized, so we are currently working to restore the house and prepare it to be the new home to BigHouse. We will have workdays many Saturdays this spring. Let us know if you would like to help clean, paint, do yardwork, etc.

Our goal is to be up and running by August, so we can start our after-school programs with the new school year. We want to offer tutoring, as well as art, dance, music, drama, and sports lessons. We will need many volunteers so if you are interested in being involved please let us know! We will also have opportunities to volunteer on a monthly basis too!

Thanks for reading our blog! We will try to update it more often than every six months!!!

Keep us in your prayers!

blake and micah

BigHouse

2008-06-26T07:43:00.000-07:00

Hello All-

This is the start to our BigHouse Blog. Hopefully through this blog I'll be able to share our current news and updates with anyone interested in our organization. I am currently in the planning stages of this endeavor... I am collecting emails and discussing ideas with my friends and family to generate interest in our organization. So...you want the scoop?

To tell the story of where the idea BigHouse began, I must give some background information to my family's story. First of all, my parents are current foster parents, and they have been fostering children since January 2007. Less than a week after my wedding, my parents had a sibling group 4 children living in their home. This was a big adjustment for everyone, including me, and I didn't even live there anymore. I have two younger brothers who are in high school, and you can image the change in their lives. Now, a year and a half later, the adjusting continues but I think if you asked anyone in our family if they would do it again, they would.

Since then, my personal outlook on foster families has changed. I now see how much sacrifice is made by these people who volunteer (that's right, they aren't paid!) to be foster parents. But I have also seen how eager and willing people are to help and assist foster families when they are given an opportunity. Whether it has been donated clothes, free babysitting, or even a whole play yard, friends and family have come out of the woodwork to help my parents raise these children. This not only encouraged my parents, it helped me realize how much people want to help, yet they have no idea what to do. Thus the reason for BigHouse; BigHouse will take the needs of foster families and connect them with the generosity of our community. BigHouse will provide the essentials of childhood to children who desperately need to be kids... Our community members can give their time by mentoring a child, providing babysitting, tutoring and being an advocate for foster care. Our community can give their money to provide for small things such as haircuts and yearbooks or bigger things, like birthday parties and vacations. Our community can give their abilities and resources to provide art lessons, music lessons, dance classes, and sports instruction.

The whole purpose of this organization is to assist foster families in the care of their children. Not only making sure they have food and shelter, but that they are also given opportunities to learn and grow and be a child. This is not only an option; it is a requirement of our community. The first line of the National Foster Child Bill of Rights states "Even more than for other children, society has a responsibility, along with parents, for the well-being of children in foster care. Citizens are responsible for acting to insure their welfare. ".

Thank you for reading. If you are interested in our organization, please email or post your contact information. My email is micahbmelnick@hotmail.com.

-micah