Why swimsuits and towels?

Each Spring BigHouse receives hundreds of requests for new swimsuits and new towels from social workers all across the state for the children in foster care on their caseload. Each towel is embroidered with the child's name to make it extra special and uniquely theirs. For many of our kids, this may be the first or only thing they have had that was personalized with their name.  

 The embroidery process is done very carefully to make sure each child’s name is spelled 100% correctly, and each towel is done with a unique font and color choice, so no two towels are the same. Our heart behind this program is for these children to learn that they are known and cared for by name. We want them to know that not only the staff at BigHouse know their names but that our Heavenly Father does as well. He created each of these children and loves them deeply. Isaiah 43:1 says, “I have called you by name; you are mine.”  We hope that through the simple gift of a swimsuit and towel that they will learn just how loved and known they are. 

 This program, like many others, would not be possible without the generosity of our community. All of our towels and swimsuits are donated, and the embroidery is typically done by volunteers. Everything from donating time, swimsuit and towels, finances, or prayers make this program a success year after year! Swimsuit and Towel Drive is truly a group effort and we could not be more thankful for the people that help us make it happen!

What is Glitz, Glam and Gowns?

Glitz, Glam, and Gowns is a FREE Formal Dress Shopping event for teen girls in foster care in Alabama. All girls in grades 9th-12th are invited to join us for a red carpet event to help them get what they need for their special spring events! They do not have to be planning to attend a prom or dance to take part in Glitz, Glam, and Gowns! 

Our heart behind this event is to allow girls to feel the beauty that everyone else gets to see. It is a means of boosting the confidence of these teenage girls and celebrating their inner and outer beauty. It is our heart that these young women are able to see themselves as Christ sees them through the cleansing blood of Jesus Christ. We hope that these girls will know that they are deeply known and cared for. Through faith in the saving blood of  Jesus Christ we are seen as perfect and beautiful in the eyes of God, “ For he has clothed me with garments of salvation and arrayed me in a robe of his righteousness” (Isaiah 61:10b). 

Through the generous donations of the community, we are able to serve our BigHouse families. Thank you for serving our families in this way!

Intern Spotlight: Molly Dalton

My name is Molly Dalton & I am one of the spring interns for BigHouse foundation! I am a senior at Auburn graduating in May with a degree in Human Development & Family Studies with a concentration in Child Life. Post graduation, I hope to secure a job back home in North Carolina with a non-profit organization that works specifically with children or a child development center. Working at BigHouse so far is incredibly rewarding! Each family I meet that comes through our doors inspires me in ways I have never experienced before! The selflessness and compassion is so genuine. BigHouse has solidified my passion for wanting to help people who are in need. I am blessed for this opportunity to work with my wonderful coworkers and I look forward to continue meeting all of our amazing BigHouse families!

Staff Introduction... Kathryn Smith

Hi everyone! 

My name is Kathryn Smith and I am new to staff as the clothes closet coordinator at BigHouse Foundation. I am from Atlanta, GA originally and am a city girl at heart. I recently graduated from Auburn University with a degree in Psychology. I am hoping to get my masters in social work and work as a therapist with kids who are in foster care. 

Kathryn and BigHouse kids in the pool on our family beach retreat.

Working at BigHouse is by far the most rewarding job that I have ever had. Through the support of the community I am able to provide the best resources possible to families who are in need. The BigHouse families are some of my heroes. The way that they have sacrificed their time and resources to care for and love these children is an inspiration to me. Their commitment to providing a safe home for those in need is a picture of how Jesus shows His unconditional love and acceptance to me. The way that these parents advocate and fight for these kids is also a picture to me of how Jesus stood in my place to protect me and give me eternal hope. Loving much takes much sacrifice and heartache. I have seen this even more clearly through hearing the stories of the BigHouse families. I am so honored for the opportunity to be a small part of these kids lives whether they ever know my name or not. 

An update on our BigHouse Retreat search...

In 2019, our landlord of the building we had been in for 10 years was ready to sell that property. While that original big house had served us well for those years, it was not what we were looking for long term so we relocated to a temporary space and began our search for a forever home for BigHouse. We looked at tons of properties, made a couple offers, and even got a property under contract but it fell through with the sellers and we found ourselves back to square one in the summer of 2020.

Discouraged, we remained faithful that BigHouse may be our passion, but it’s God’s plan. He has always made a way and met our needs, and in his perfect timing. We went back to the drawing board and on the hunt for just the right place. In December of 2020, a property popped up on the market on a Thursday afternoon. It was a vacant lot, about 9 acres, inside the city limits. We went and looked at it Friday morning and made an offer that afternoon. The sellers accepted and for the first time in this process, they actually seemed excited to hear who we were and what the future would hold for this property. We had a signed contract by Saturday morning.

We have one more “hurdle” before closing and being able to say WE OWN THIS PROPERTY… And that’s an approval for conditional use from the Opelika Planning Commission. Once that is approved, we can close on the property February 1st. We are planning a work day to clean up and clear out the property on Saturday, February 6th. We have faith that this is where God wants BigHouse and are planning accordingly!

Here is a preview of our concept design for this property. Lot’s more details and plans will be worked out in the coming months, as well as who our builder will be, how much funding we will need to raise, etc. and we are continuing to pray for these details to be made clear! Join us in praying that doors will continue to be opened, families will be served in meaningful ways on this property and above all God will be glorified through our plans and efforts.

BigHouse Hustle 2020

In April of 2020, I found myself lying on the couch, eating reese cups, during the shut down, with little motivation to get moving. I know I feel better when I’m active, I think more clearly, I’m kinder to my family, but I, like many of us, had no motivation. I decided I needed a challenge- something to push myself out the door. (I may be a teeny bit competitive, even with myself and my goals) And thus was born my 1 month, 100 mile challenge. I shared my challenge to myself on instagram for accountability and had a friend (and BigHouse Board Member) ask to join me. We logged 100 miles in one month, getting us up and active and pushing ourselves to do more physically than we thought.

To log our final miles, we decided to meet up and run together. During our run we discussed how we thought we could convince a few more friends to join in for a round 2… we also figured we might could support BigHouse through this so we decided our goal would be to convince 30 friends to join us, ask everyone to pay $30 to be a part of our hustle, and make t-shirts commiserating our accomplishment! Once we started talking to others we realized a lot of folks were interested, but some weren’t quite ready to commit to 100 miles. We decided to create 3 goals, 1 mile a day (30 milers) ~2 miles a day (65 milers) and 3+ miles a day (100 milers)- we started posting on social media and asking friends to join. We reached 30 participants the first night. Over the course of the next week, counting down to our official Hustle Kick-Off date, we recruited 558 hustlers to join us for the first ever BigHouse Hustle!

Together, these 558 hustlers and 9 sponsors raised more than $23,000 for BigHouse. In a year when literally no one knew what tomorrow would hold, how shut downs and job loss and a global pandemic would effect non-profit fundraising, the BigHouse Hustle was truly a gift. The Lord provided a unique opportunity to help BigHouse fundraise while also getting a whole community of folks on their feet and out the door!

When we finished the first hustle we had so many participants who wanted a round two. We decided to make our BigHouse Hustle a Bi-annual event- and put the second BigHouse Hustle on the calendar for November.

For round 2, we had 648 hustlers and 6 sponsors raise over $28,000 for BigHouse! Another blessing to help us fundraise and see our dream of a new BigHouse become a reality! The Hustle proves to be a great community of individuals who want encouragement and accountability to meet their goals, while supporting a great cause. We have found something special with these hustlers and can’t wait to see what happens in 2021. Our next Hustle is May 1-31st!

Santa's Workshop Recap!

After a challenging year of cancelled events, we weren’t sure what our Santa’s Workshop would look like. Thankfully, the Lord provided and we were able to host our annual FREE Christmas Shopping event for our families.

Thanks to the partnership with Auburn Church of Christ, we were able to host this huge event over the course of a week, allowing families to stagger their shopping and limiting the amount of people in the building at one time. We had families shop for the children in their homes over the course of a whole week. This year we served 138 families and 450 children! Each child received a big item or gift card, 3-4 additional toys or gifts, a puzzle or game, stuffed animal and stocking stuffers. Thanks to the generosity of a local family, we also gave away over 300 bibles!

This event serves children in foster care, children adopted out of foster care, and the biological children in those foster and adoptive families. It allows us to support the whole family and relieve the financial burden that Christmas can be on families, especially large families! We love serving our families through this event every year and we are so grateful for the support of so many community partners that makes it possible!

It's been awhile...

Our blog has been quiet for too long.

We are resurrecting it to have a better platform to share details of the day to day at BigHouse.

We look forward to sharing more about the highs and lows, the excitement and the frustrations of running our organization and serving so many wonderful families.

Stay tuned…

Statewide Swimsuit and Towel Drive

Hey, It’s BigHouse!

Hey everyone, it’s BigHouse again! It is officially spring which means it is Swimsuit and Towel Drive time! Swimsuit and Towel Drive started in 2009 to collect new swimsuits and towels for children in foster care across the state. Yes, the ENTIRE state of Alabama! The annual drive started off as a huge hit and has quickly become one of our favorite things to do.

Each towel is embroidered with the child’s name to make the gift extra special. This makes the gift uniquely their own and something they can cherish year after year. We love knowing that something that may seem so small can impact a child’s life and give them something to smile about.

Over the past eight years, Swimsuit and Towel Drive has grown tremendously. We have delivered over 10,000 swimsuit and towel packages across the state to children in foster care. As you can imagine, this does not happen without our incredible community. We rely on our community to help donate swimsuits and towels and to help embroider the towels. We are so thankful to have such incredible support! It makes this process go smoothly and quickly!

This year, the drive will run through the end of April. It takes time but it allows us the ability to truly provide each child with a unique and special gift. We believe each personalized towel tells the child, “You are valued by your community and loved by your Heavenly Father.” To ensure this message is received, we place a postcard in each package telling the child just that.

We are so excited for this year’s Swimsuit and Towel Drive to get started! If you would like to donate to the drive, there are drop-off locations around the community and donations can be dropped off at BigHouse as well. Also, if you are interested in helping us embroider towels, please contact us by email at bighouse@ourbighouse.org. We can’t to make this year’s drive the best yet!

Glitz, Glam and Gowns!

Hey It’s BigHouse!

Last week we had our annual Glitz, Glam and Gowns event and it was a HUGE success! Glitz, Glam and Gowns is our annual prom dress event for teenage girls in foster care throughout the state of Alabama. It is always such a fun way to connect with these girls and help them feel pampered for an evening.

This year the event was held at The Church at Brook Hills in Birmingham. There were close to 60 round ladies signed up and multiple volunteers there to help! The girls could shop and try on prom dresses, pick out shoes and jewelry to match, and get their makeup and nails done. It was so much fun! We heard squeals, saw huge smiles as girls wore their dresses around for the rest of the night and spinning in them in the halls. It was so encouraging to see the joy on their faces as they found the dress they wanted! 

Like many other events, Glitz, Glam and Gowns would not have been possible without some amazing people. To our staff, the volunteers, donors and prayer warriors.. THANK YOU!! Without you this event would not have been a success.

Glitz, Glam and Gowns is one of our favorite events each year, and we are so pleased with the way it went this year. We can't wait for next year!!