By MICHAEL J. BROOKS

Special to the Reporter

WILSONVILLE – Birmingham musician Taylor Hicks was the main act for a fundraiser on Tuesday, Oct. 23, at The King’s Stables and Gardens in Wilsonville.

Local artist Brendan Young opened for Hicks.

“It was an awesome night!” King’s Home President Lew Burdette said. “We were happy to transform our flower field into a nice venue with white tablecloths and hanging lights and some rustic hay bales. Taylor said it had been a long time since he’d sung from a flat-bed truck, but he did a great job for us.”

Burdette said Hicks has always been a giving person who’s interested in Birmingham and especially in helping boys and girls.

Burdette said The King’s Home sold individual tickets and sponsored tables, and the organization is still tabulating the amount of money raised for the children.

“We had outright donations, of course, and pledges,” he said. “And we’re always grateful to receive further donations for our work.”

The Wilsonville campus is a boys’ facility, and the seven boys’ homes were invited to the Hicks concert, he said.

“It was a special treat for our boys, and they greeted and served, so they were a big help,” Burdette said.

Burdette explained that The King’s Home is based in Chelsea but has 22 residential homes encompassing four counties: Shelby, Jefferson, Tuscaloosa and Blount.

“We’re one big foster family per home,” he said, “including a mother and dad and their biological children, plus eight ‘King’s Home kids’ per family. Ninety-eight percent of our kids have experienced abuse, so we provide a caring and supportive environment for them in our facilities.”

Burdette said the Wilsonville property is spread over 80 acres and houses not only the equine program with 13 horses, but also the garden and instructional areas.

“We produce fruits, vegetables, chickens and honeybees,” he said. “We received two grants from the Birmingham community to transform one of our buildings into an education center. We have cooking demonstrations and try to answer the question, ‘What do you do with okra?’,” he said with a laugh. “We teach a lot of things we can do with garden products to make them even more useful.”

Burdette said The King’s Home is intentional also about teaching life lessons with scriptural application.

“One of our boys told his story about how our ministry has redirected his life, and this was a special part of the evening us,” he said.

More information about The King’s Home is available at kingshome.com. Donations can be made using the website or by calling 678-8331.