By JESSA PEASE  / Staff Writer

PELHAM— Faith-based nonprofit, BigHouse Foundation Shelby County, officially opened its doors at a Feb. 19 ribbon cutting in Pelham.

The organization, located at 3154 County Road 52 West, was established to connect the needs of foster families in Shelby County with the generosity of the community through the love of Jesus Christ, according to Shelby County coordinator Donna McDow.

‘There’s a gap between what DHR and the state can do for foster families and where their own pocketbooks have to pick it up, especially children that stay in care for a long time,” McDow said.

As a former foster parent, McDow said she knows the extent of need many foster families have for basic necessities, such as clothing, as foster children continue to grow.

She was a foster parent for about 10 years and said they’ve taken care of more than 50 foster children. McDow also has four biological children and has adopted four.

Fostering children is a family affair, as McDow’s daughter currently has six foster children in addition to four of her own adopted children.

“Most of our fosters have the maximum of six children because we need more foster families,” McDow said. “Not everybody can be a foster parent, but everybody can help in some way.”

BigHouse Foundation Shelby County has two basic goals, according to McDow. They want to put a journey bag in the home of a child being placed in foster care within 24 hours, and they want to provide clothes for all the children in the homes of foster families.

“Wherever that child is going, that foster family gets a bag (with) socks, pajamas, underwear, stuffed animal, toy, Bible,” McDow said of the journey bags.

BigHouse Foundation Opelika also offers some additional services McDow said the Shelby County location will eventually extend as well. Birthday Club provides swimsuits, towels and more for children, and there is also a program for high school students related to formal events.

With about 200 children in foster homes in Shelby County, not including private entities or children in relative placement, McDow said there is a big need in this county.

“It’s just a dream of mine,” McDow said. “As a former foster parent, who the Lord has really shown me that we are to have ours closed and not to be foster parents anymore, we can do this.”