From our inception on June 4, 1838, until 1981, St. Mary’s Home relied almost solely on the generosity of individuals and the business community to meet the needs of the children entrusted to the care of St. Mary’s Home. In 1981, St. Mary’s Home received its first federal funding for the care of the children.  Today, over 77% of our funding comes from government sources, with only 24% coming from private sources such as the United Way of Southwest Alabama (10.55%), donations from individuals, businesses and foundations (10.85%), and Catholic Charities (2.65%).

St. Mary’s Home wants to return to its roots and wants the community to reclaim ownership of St. Mary’s Home and the children entrusted to our care. With your help, we can decrease our dependency on government sources to meet the needs of the children.

While St. Mary's Home values its partnership with government, we believe the true strength of our agency lies in our partnerships with caring individuals. We currently have waiting lists for some of our services, and research documents that there are literally tens of thousands of children who need our help. With this knowledge, St. Mary’s Home plans to return to its roots of depending on the hearts of individuals rather than on governmental funding. While this may seem intimidating, our 170 year history provides proof that children, and St. Mary's Home, can depend on the love and generosity of the community.

By partnering with St. Mary’s Home in our mission to care for abused, abandoned and neglected children you can:

Donate
By giving to the Endowment Fund, you give a gift that lasts forever.  Income earned on the Endowment Fund provides money to St. Mary’s Home for program services and basic care needs for the children and for maintenance and repairs to our building (erected in 1961).

By making monthly and annual donations, you ensure that St. Mary’s Home has the financial resources to provide the daily and physical necessities for the children.

By naming St. Mary’s Home in your will, you have many options to give a gift to St. Mary’s Home while leaving an inheritance for your loved ones.

By donating vehicles, property, and stocks to St. Mary’s Home, you can receive tax deductions for the items donated.

By making memorial gifts and gifts in honor of friends, loved ones or business associates, you can provide a remembrance of loved ones while supporting St. Mary’s Home’s mission.

To ensure that St. Mary’s Home continues to provide care for the abused, abandoned, and neglected children of our community for 170 more years, please contact Jill Chenoweth to discuss your giving options at 251.344.7733 or by email.