Dinner & Craft Night

Where is a child to go when he or she cannot be properly cared for at home?

Prior to 1972, in Lexington County and most other places in the country, many children who needed protection were kept in jail cells because there was nowhere else for them to go.

Then, through a concerted effort of Lexington County Citizens, the Shelter, originally known as Welcome Home, opened its doors.

After later being known as the Lexington County Children’s Shelter, its name changed in 1992 to honor Ms. Nancy Perry, a volunteer, houseparent, and former executive director.

The Nancy K. Perry Children’s Shelter, Inc. is a residential program for the temporary, emergency care of children who have experienced physically or sexually abused, neglected, abandoned, exploited or caught in the midst of family crisis.

The Shelter operates twenty-four hours a day, year-round to care for children from birth to 18 years of age. The youngest child the Shelter has served so far was 8 hours old.

The Shelter is the oldest facility of its type in South Carolina and serves approximately 85 to 100 children annually. Since the Shelter was opened, it has cared for more than 5,000 children.

While in placement, children attend public school, receive counseling, medical care, recreational, cultural, social, and religious opportunities, as well as lots of love.

Last month, several members of the JWCLM wanted to help serve and share some love with the children at the Shelter! We met at the Shelter and hosted a fun dinner and craft night for the children.

Fatz Cafe of Irmo generously donated a platter of chicken tenders for the meal! Thank you, Fatz Cafe! All of the sides and dessert were provided by the club members.

The children were fun, full of energy, and very talkative! We all had a great time visiting with them!

After dinner, we helped the children design their own bookmarks. It was a big hit, especially the laminating machine we brought to seal up their bookmarks and artwork. The children loved seeing their designs go through the machine and then look professional once they're done!