Kathy arrived at the Kentucky United Methodist Children’s Homes (KyUMH) at age 12. Her peaceful childhood had been shaken by her parents' divorce. Kathy and her younger sister began to act out, and without the resources to care for them, their parents decided it was best for the girls to live at KyUMH.

“It was a very traumatic event being dropped off,” Kathy says. “They had to pry me out of the car."

As she watched the car drive away, painful questions lingered in her heart: Why had her parents left her? How could they have given her up so easily? There must have been something wrong with her. Kathy remembers feeling like "damaged goods."

As young as she was, she felt an immediate, sobering responsibility to care for her younger sister. Kathy says of that moment, “I grew up in a day.”

One of the first things Kathy remembers at KyUMH was being given a quilt. She learned someone had spent countless hours crafting it just for her. “It’s the most caring gift you can give a child in that situation,” Kathy says. “The quilt wrapped me up in comfort.”

The love of the staff at KyUMH helped her heal from the painful experience of being separated from her parents. The chaplains reminded her about God’s love and why she could trust him.

Kathy learned that she was not “damaged goods,” but a talented, capable person.

By the time she was 16, Kathy had grown into a strong leader. She was highly involved at KyUMH, participating in the choir, serving on the campus council, and working several jobs on campus.

After leaving us, Kathy’s life was anything but easy. She leaned on her experiences while with us. “KyUMH gave me a very solid foundation of faith and

leadership and strength to survive a difficult journey,” Kathy says.

Today, Kathy is a confident mother and businesswoman. She wants today’s KyUMH youth to know, “God can move mountains, he can make a way where there is no way... Just keep the faith and know that you are valuable and you are capable.”