Blog – Christian Children's Home of Ohio

Heart for the Home Celebration

Posted on May 11, 2017

As we move ever closer to celebrating the 50th anniversary of Christian Children’s Home of Ohio (CCHO) in 2019, we wanted to take some time to look back on our agency’s long and storied past, an incredibly fruitful history that would not be possible without God’s guidance and blessings at every step. To do that right, not only did we need to praise the Creator who has made everything possible during CCHO’s existence, we also needed to honor the men and women who have invested their lives in our family of ministries.

And so, the first-ever Heart for the Home Celebration was created as we sought to not only pay tribute to our past but also look forward to an exciting future that God is unfolding for us! Nearly 400 people attended the event at the Greenbriar Conference & Party Centre in Wooster and after an opening prayer from Pastor Jerry Birch, the team chaplain for the Cleveland Cavaliers, everyone enjoyed the delicious dinner and dessert that was served while also bidding on more than 100 fun and unique packages in our silent auction.

The first highlight of the evening occurred early when we honored former CCHO Executive Director Gary Porter and his 33 years of dedicated service with a video presentation and our first Heart for the Home award. Please watch the full video below:

After dinner, CCHO therapist Brandon Jurkovich treated everyone to a personal and inspirational spoken word performance that examined the importance of fatherhood in the lives of children before handing the mic off to Dru Joyce II. The head boys basketball coach at St. Vincent-St. Mary High School in Akron and former mentor to LeBron James continued the fatherhood theme by speaking about his many years working with the young men on his teams and how his time as a coach and mentor has impacted his relationship with his own kids.

We also unveiled our agency’s first book, “Father’s Day Miracle: Faith, Fatherhood and the Day Everything Changed for Cleveland Sports Fans.” Everyone in attendance received a copy of the new book, which examines the intricate and sometimes messy relationships that are formed at the intersection of our calling as fathers, our passion as sports fans and, above all, our identity as followers of Christ. To learn more about this project and how you can get a copy of your own in time for Father’s Day, visit fathersdaymiracle.com!

Finally, we discussed our exciting plans to build a gym on the CCHO campus, a place where our young residents can shoot some hoops, burn off some energy and escape the cold Ohio winters. We will be releasing more information on this initiative in the coming months, so please stay tuned!

We were overwhelmed by the generosity and support that those in attendance and our sponsors demonstrated at the Heart for the Home Celebration. In total, the event raised nearly $90,000, which far exceeded our goal for the evening. Incredible! Thank you SO MUCH to everyone who attended, and be on the lookout for the next Heart for the Home Celebration in 2018!

We will be posting more video highlights from the evening, so stay tuned. In the meantime, to get a closer look at the festivities, please check out the photo gallery below.

Photo Gallery

Click the thumbnails below to view larger photos.

A new name & an eternal promise

Posted on February 10, 2017

“Behold, I make all things new.”

These words from Revelation 21:5 (ESV) are bursting with hope, a powerful promise from God that the pain, the sorrow, the frustrations of this life are temporary, that something better awaits. But maybe what we love most about this verse is who and what the promise applies to. ALL things. There are no disclaimers, no qualifiers, no fine print hiding out at the bottom of the page saying, “eligibility subject to approval.”

ALL things.

As we began discussing a redesign of the semi-annual newsletter for Christian Children’s Home of Ohio (CCHO), formerly known as “Shareline,” we wondered if there may be a more meaningful name for the publication, something with a relevant connection to God’s Word that illustrates our desire to more effectively communicate information about our counseling, foster care and adoption ministries along with the latest from the CCHO campus. Our search eventually led us to those two simple yet striking words: all things.

No matter what we’ve done, the ugliness locked away in our past, the hurt we carry or even the hurt we may have caused others, Jesus redeems us all when we call to Him. What an incredible gift.

But then God took hold of this idea and showed us just how significant those two words truly are.

“And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.” (Romans 8:28 NIV)

“Jesus looked at them and said, ‘With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.’” (Matthew 19:26 NIV)

“I can do all things through him who strengthens me.” (Philippians 4:13 ESV)

“For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, and through him to reconcile to himself all things.” (Colossians 1:19-20 NIV)

In our debut issue and future editions of “All Things,” we will share “all things” related to our family of ministries. You will read stories and learn about the ways God continues to bless the work we do, how He makes the impossible possible, how He demonstrates His love and power through us and the people we help, and how Jesus can redeem anyone, no matter how broken, and anything, no matter how messy.

And you will be reminded, as we are each day, of the healing and salvation that is found only in His love.

“Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never ends.” (1 Corinthians 13:7-8 ESV)

CLICK TO READ OUR SPRING 2017 ISSUE OF “ALL THINGS”

This article originally appeared in the Spring 2017 issue of our All Things newsletter.

CCHO honored with WorthyWorks Award

Posted on January 31, 2017

ccho-worthyworks-2017 The new year got off to a memorable start for CCHO when the Wayne County Community Foundation and the Wooster Area Chamber of Commerce presented the agency with its annual WorthyWorks Award. Given to CCHO at the Chamber’s Annual Dinner Meeting on January 19, the WorthyWorks Award is handed out each year to local non-profit organizations that make a significant impact in their communities.

“On behalf of all our staff at Christian Children’s Home of Ohio, we are humbled to be recognized as the 2017 winner of the WorthyWorks award, and we are grateful to be able to serve in this caring community of Wayne County,” said CCHO Executive Director Kevin Hewitt (pictured to the right, between Wooster Area Chamber of Commerce president Justin Starlin and chair Paul Williams).

Specifically, CCHO was recognized after expanding its services throughout the area, including the establishment of a new Encompass Counseling and Encourage Foster Care office in downtown Wooster (637 College Avenue) as well as a partnership with Wooster Church of the Nazarene, and doing so in a fiscally responsible manner. The Chamber also pointed to the growing public awareness of CCHO and its related ministries in the community.

“For nearly 50 years, God has blessed us with the opportunity to help transform the lives of the children and adults that we serve,” Hewitt said. “Our dedicated, passionate staff reflect daily our core values of relentless commitment, selflessness and kindness.”

Visit waynecountycommunityfoundation.org to learn more about the Wayne County Community Foundation and see past winners of the WorthyWorks Award. More information on the Wooster Area Chamber of Commerce can be found at woosterchamber.com.

This article originally appeared in the Spring 2017 issue of our All Things newsletter.