Category: Donor Generosity
*Originally published in Kentucky Today.
At Sunrise, we do our very best to let our kids know they are loved and cared for by all of our staff. Recently, however, one of our residential boys discovered that there are many people outside of our agency who also love our kids.
Each year, the boys who live at Sunrise’s Spring Meadows Center in Mt. Washington take a trip to the Kentucky State Fair. Because it is considered a school activity, the boys are assigned to write a paper on something they learned, liked or found interesting during the trip.
One of our boys shared his paper:
THE FAIR
What I found interesting at the fair were the adoption and child welfare stands.
It was interesting ’cause they were there trying to find foster parents for people like us in Sunrise.
They didn’t even know the people that needed homes, but they cared, and they were there for hours. At first, no one in the middle school class wanted to go to this section of the fair, but I kinda made them, and I asked the lady there if she could explain what they’re doing and told the group that there are people that care abut the future and welfare that they don’t even know.
I thought it was cool to go there because it was a good learning experience for me and the group because it was beneficial.
I also liked the fact that at the fair, there were goats. I love goats, and seeing goats made me happy and made me feel like I was home.
I also liked how there were a lot of respectful people there. So, when you treated people with respect, they did the same. And they were helpful.
Also (one of the other Spring Meadows boys) told the cup guy that he only had $20, and if he can get the cup for $15, he can get food. The guy agreed. It was very generous of him even though he didn’t have to. And it shows that people are kind.
This paper basically brings my reason for writing it is ’cause people are kind and caring and want you to know that they want you to be happy and feel welcome.
Your continued support to Sunrise allows all of our boys and girls to have these kinds of experiences. Your support throughout the year truly makes a difference in the lives of our kids.
Written by David Lyninger, director of communications for Sunrise Children’s Services.
I met Chuck* when he first arrived at Sunrise’s Spring Meadow Center (SMC) in Mt. Washington. As I began the admission process with him, I noticed he was a friendly, talkative boy who was – as most are at first – anxious about what his new life at SMC would be like. He seemed determined to get through the treatment program here, and he applied himself to his therapy work for a time. However, as time went by, he seemed to lose hope and motivation to keep moving in a healthy direction.
As a treatment team, we had considered starting a mentor program to help the boys with their motivation to work hard in the program, especially those that have little to no family involvement and support. We were able to partner with Orphan Care Alliance’s Life Coaching program in March 2022 to recruit and train several life coaches.
Chuck was the first to receive a life coach. After he began meeting with his life coach in October of 2022, he got much more serious about finishing his therapy, and he actually graduated the program in January of this year! He continues to meet with his life coach each week while he waits for a good foster family placement.
His life coach, Wade Pritchard, has this to say about him: “In the few short months I’ve been meeting with Chuck, it has been inspiring to watch him increase in his desire to get well. Chuck professes faith in Christ. As he looks to the future and earnestly desires life beyond Sunrise, I have encouraged him to ‘leave behind’ the attitudes and behaviors that have led him to this place in his life.”
Pritchard shared with Chuck a portion of the scripture verse from Philippians 3:13: One thing I do, forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on. “Chuck and I both enjoy getting together and have expressed interest in continuing our relationship beyond his time at Sunrise,” said Pritchard. “I look forward with great anticipation how God is going to help, guide, and bless this young man as he and I press on together.”
*Name has been changed for privacy.
Written by Suzanne Pritchard, Sunrise senior administrative assistant at Spring Meadows Center
In Part One, we met Jim and Martha Buchanan and heard of their love story for each other and the love they shared (and continue to share) with their community and even the world. In part two, that love story now shifts to the Buchanan’s love for God.
“When we first got married, we always said God was first,” stated Martha. “The first thing was always the tithe.” When they were attending Walnut Street Baptist Church in Louisville, and Dr. Wayne Dehoney was pastor, the church had a very active children’s bus ministry. A part of the Buchanan’s tithe went toward this ministry. “We saw what the needs were for these children, and my heart just went out to them,” said Martha.
A few months ago, two of these former bus-ministry children (now adult men) came to visit the Buchanans. Both are now married, and doing incredibly well. One of the men asked the Buchanans if they would attend his wife and his 40th wedding anniversary celebration. Of course, they accepted. When they arrived at the church, the man gave Martha a corsage and said, “You’re going to be my surrogate mother tonight because you were always my second mother when I was a teenager.”
One Bible verse that always stuck with the Buchanans, particularly Martha, is Proverbs 3:5-6: “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not onto your own understanding.” One example of the Buchanans living this verse out occurred when Jim was in his early 40s, and he and his older daughter decided to go on a mission trip to Haiti. It was actually a combination of a mission trip and a medical mission. His daughter was a nurse, and Jim was a pharmacist. She was separated from her dad during the trip and placed in a village that had a clinic. Jim was paired with another nurse, and the two of them went up into the mountains with two others. Jim and his missions partner were the only medical people at this site.
The most important part of this trip actually occurred before Jim and his daughter even stepped on the plane. A wholesale warehouse in Louisville gave the mission team lots of medicine to take with them. “One of the things they gave us was a pound of Silvadene ointment. It’s for burns,” said Jim. “I don’t know that I would ever in a month of Sundays use it,” Jim stated. But in spite of Jim questioning taking the ointment, the nurse that would be Jim’s partner during the trip suggested that she fit it into her luggage, and she did. It didn’t take long before Jim would discover the importance of taking this particular medicine.
“The very first morning that we opened the clinic, they brought a young lady about 12 years old and, we don’t know how it happened, but she had fallen into a cauldron of boiling water. She had blisters all over her hands and arms,” shared Jim. “I went into my cache of medicine and got out the Silvadene.” Jim lathered the crème on the girl’s wounds. He told the girl through his interpreter that he needed to see her every morning for the rest of the time that he was there. At the end of about eight days, all the blisters were gone. Pushing through tears, Jim said, “If that’s not providential guidance, I don’t know what it would be.”
Jim and Martha Buchanan always chose to follow God, even when at first, they may not have wanted to – like the time they purchased one of their favorite houses. “We had bought my dream home,” said Martha. “I was never, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever leaving my dream home! And then God called them both to St. Louis. Martha knew what she had to do: “Let’s sell the house.”
But that wasn’t the end of the house story. “We had said that whatever God gives us on this, we will tithe it,” said Martha. They were true to their word. From their tithe on the house, they paid for the furnishing of a mission house for a church in St. Louis. The rest of the tithe was given to mission work in Haiti.
To this day, the Buchanans continue to give to others, including Sunrise. As mentioned in Part One, they make regular trips to Sunrise’s Ministry Support Center in Mt. Washington, dropping off a vanload of needed supplies with each visit. Eventually, the boys who live next door at Sunrise’s Spring Meadows Center got word of what Jim and Martha were doing. So, the boys sent Jim thank you letters. Martha and Jim knew what they needed to do next: visit the boys in person.
When the Buchanans did make that visit to Spring Meadows Center, the boys were waiting for them. A cake was ordered in honor of the Buchanans, and they were given a tour by one of the young men living there. Afterwards, everyone enjoyed cake, and Jim took time to share some stories with the boys and answer questions. Martha also enjoyed talking with the boys and getting some suggestions on specific donations she would give in the future!
The Buchanans are grateful for the journey they have traveled so far. “It has been such a wonderful walk with God as our guide, and He has been so good to us,” said Martha. “He’s blessed us beyond anything we would have ever thought of.” Jim agrees. “The things that have happened in our lives that I am absolutely sure in my mind, that if it hasn’t been the Lord’s intervention to my own resources, I could never ever have done what I have been able to accomplish,” Jim said. “We have many, many things with providential guidance that came our way, and I’ve said many, many times that if I had to live my 85 years over again, I don’t remember doing anything different coming along.”
We wouldn’t suggest you change a thing, either, Jim. And on behalf of Sunrise, thank you both for your faithfulness to God, to those people He has placed before you on your path, and to the children and families of Sunrise. You have reached, and are continuing to reach, generations.
The story of Jim and Martha Buchanan is a love story. Their love for each other is genuine, unchanging, and strong. But that’s only a part of their story. The other part is, well, another kind of love story. It’s about loving others: their community, their nation, and even the world. And yes, Sunrise has definitely benefited from their love and generosity.
The best way to understand both love stories is to first learn a little bit about who Jim and Martha are and how their journey together began. Here is an introduction:
Jim was born in 1936 in the small town of Artemus in Knox County. Jim was raised by two loving parents. “I guess I grew up about as poor as anything but did not know it because Mother and Dad lived on a farm, and they raised everything that we had,” Jim said. “They were both school teachers, and they taught in a mining camp.” Jim’s mother would use pot belly stoves in the schools to prepare meals for students between classes. Jim’s father was also a bivocational pastor and would eventually serve as assistant superintendent of the county schools for many years.
His parents’ love for God and for others certainly influenced Jim. At age 12, he had his first job working with the county missionary in Knox County teaching Bible School. Later on, in high school, Jim helped begin a Christian youth organization of all the youth in the county.
After graduating high school, Jim enrolled at Union College, a Methodist college in Barbourville. From there, he went on to pharmacy school at the University of Kentucky, enrolling a year ahead of schedule. While taking pharmacy classes in Louisville, it didn’t take Jim long to get connected to a church, settling in at Walnut Street Baptist. He was quickly selected as the president of the church’s Baptist Young Training Union, where they soon decided to have a hayride. That’s where Martha enters the story.
Like Jim, Martha was a member of Walnut Street Baptist. She explained that the church had a horseshoe balcony where students would fill the seats every Sunday morning. There was a section of high school students, Southern Baptist Seminary students, U of L engineering students, just to name a few, and of course, pharmacy students. From the floor level, Martha spotted Jim sitting with his fellow students in the balcony. She turned to one of her friends and said, “Get me a date with that young guy!”
Martha’s friend introduced Jim to Martha; but before he could go on a date with her, he needed to meet her parents. So, one Wednesday night after church, Jim drove the winding roads to Martha’s house, visited with her parents, and invited Martha to the hayride. She said yes.
Three short years later she said yes again, and the two were married on December 20, 1958. “It’s unusual, but she is the only girl in my life, that I ever dated,” Jim said. “I was his first kiss!” Martha added. “But here’s the fun part, I didn’t find out about that until last year. He never told me.”
There were probably not many secrets they would keep from each other over the years. Instead they eagerly and lovingly walked life’s path hand in hand, having three daughters and even traveling the world together, visiting every U.S. state and all seven continents. While a pharmacist, Jim joined the army reserve, serving just two months shy of 42 years of military experience. He spent eight years in the Pentagon, working for three different Surgeon Generals. He also spent many years serving as a deacon at Walnut Street. Martha worked as a travel agent and always was there to support and encourage her husband.
But as mentioned earlier, their love was not limited to each other or even to their family. They have taken every opportunity to share their love with others. Over the years, they cared for children in the bus ministry at their church and supported mission trips to Haiti and Brazil. Jim and one of his daughters actually traveled together on these mission trips. And then there was the time that they met one of our Sunrise boys . . . .
About 15 years ago, a deacon at Walnut Street Baptist heard about Sunrise and invited some of the Sunrise boys to their Deacon’s Christmas Banquet. One of the boys sat at Jim and Martha’s table. “He was probably 16 years of age,” said Martha. “He was a handsome young man. Very nice mannered. His mother was a single parent.” Martha and Jim learned from the young man that he had a girlfriend, she was pregnant, and he was wanting to marry this young lady, help raise their child, and join the military. “Mother was trying to do the right thing; the child was trying to do the right thing,” stated Martha. “And you just want to help somebody like that when they’re trying to do what’s right.” Jim added: “It really hit me that this was an organization that I needed to do something for.” And he has.
For many years, Jim and Martha have contributed to community missions, splitting donations to Sunrise and Walnut Street Baptist. “Every day that I’m home I’m collecting either from an office supply, or a school supply, or a drug store,” Jim said. “Right now, I have more than a van load if I put Sunrise and Walnut Street together. I don’t think I can get it all in my van right now!” Jim and Martha, who now live in Lexington, deliver these items personally to Walnut Street and Sunrise about once a month.
Jim explained why he and Martha do what they do: “Those attributes that were given to me, I can’t pay anybody back, so I have to pass it on. That’s how Martha and I have dedicated and determined that’s the way we will live our lives for the rest of time.” Martha added: “That’s maybe the reason we’re here so long!”
(To be continued . . . .)
Written by David Lyninger, Sunrise Director of Communications
It all began with a conversation between Reuben Watson, regional advancement director at Sunrise Children’s Services, and Jeremy Teall, director and owner of Paul Mitchell The School in Lexington and Louisville. The two started talking a year ago about what it would be like for their organizations to form a partnership and together help serve the children of Sunrise by providing free haircuts and styles. By the time their conversation ended, Teall and Watson decided that they should help not just Sunrise kids, but any child from any foster care organization in the state of Kentucky. And that is how the WayMaker Project was formed.
A year later, more than 200 kids have been served in the Lexington and Louisville communities through the partnership of Sunrise Children’s Services and Paul Mitchell the School. Organizations which include Kentucky United Methodist, All God’s Children, Home of the Innocents, Boys and Girls Haven, St. Josephs Children’s Home, Strengthening Transformations, LEX Project Prom, and others have all benefited from this program.
“The WayMaker Project has given our kiddos at St. Joseph Children’s Home the opportunity to be pampered while improving their self-worth,” stated Mary Horton, residential supervisor at St. Joseph’s Children’s Home in Louisville. “The stylists are so personable and patient with our kiddos as well!”
“This is how it works: An agency will request tickets and a Sunrise care worker will deliver the tickets to the requesting agency,” explained Watson. “We are all in this together.”
Earlier this year, a foster parent from All God’s Children (AGC) was extremely grateful to hear about the WayMaker Project. “Having one child to get school-ready as a single mom is a challenge. Imagine having four!” she said. “A week before school started, a sibling set of three joined my family. When I received an email from AGC that we could get hair cut vouchers, I responded immediately. Making the appointment through Paul Mitchell’s website was super easy. The ladies who cut my boys’ hair took their time and made sure the boys walked away with smiles on their faces. Thank you AGC for taking care of my kiddos!”
Strengthening Transformations, Inc. has partnered with Paul Mitchell over the past five years with events such as the Father/Daughter dance held at the Woodford County Detention Center where they provided hair, makeup, and manicures for the daughters; and the Friendship Fest in 2019. “We were so ecstatic that stylists from the Paul Mitchell School gave of their time to do free quick styles for the girls in attendance at Friendship Fest and last year provided us with vouchers for free haircuts,” said a representative from Strengthening Transformations. “Through their partnership with our organization, we have been able to make young girls recognize their beauty both inside and out.”
The Paul Mitchell organization believes a haircut can be the catalyst for children to understand how special they truly are. “It has been an honor and pleasure for Paul Mitchell The School to partner with Sunrise Children’s Services. Fundraising and supporting the local community has been the foundation and cornerstone of Paul Mitchell Schools since their inception,” said Teall. “Partnering with Sunrise Children’s Services has given Paul Mitchell The School the opportunity to reach the most needed, and in many cases most well-deserving people, in our community. It always has been and will continue to be the mission of Paul Mitchell The School to serve our local community, and the creation of the WayMaker Project will continue to help us achieve that mission. Thank you to the many people at Sunrise who have aided us in our mission to serve.”
LEX Project Prom is another agency who has benefitted from Paul Mitchell The School and the WayMaker Project. “LEX Project Prom is a non-profit organization that serves under-resourced students to attend their senior prom with no financial obligation. With partners like Paul Mitchell, our students are able to complete their full Prom look,” stated Asona McMullen, executive director at LEX Project Prom. The staff (at paul Mitchell The School) is always welcoming and attentive to our students’ needs. Without them, we would not be able to provide a full service for our attending students. They have been a joy to work with, and we are honored to have them support our mission and work alongside us.”
And of course, the kids at Sunrise Children’s Services have also benefitted from the WayMaker Project. Last month, 15 girls who live at Sunrise’s Glen Dale Center in Elizabethtown were given free haircuts and styles by Paul Mitchell the Louisville School. The night did not end there. Paul Mitchell The School purchased pizza and had a pizza party for the Sunrise kids while investing in the young ladies’ lives. “The Sunrise girls felt so good about their new looks and themselves. They couldn’t stop smiling, which is sadly rare for some of these girls,” said Jake Pelfrey, development director at Sunrise. “Paul Mitchell The School is the type of entity that understands that it takes a village to care for these kids.”
Wanda Sullivan, former Administrative Assistant at the New Hope Pregnancy Center, had heard of Sunrise Children’s Services but hadn’t yet made any real connection with its ministry. That changed in 2018 when she retired from her job. “The Lord just kind of put a burden on my heart for Sunrise,” Sullivan said. “So, I told my pastor, Brother Robbie Fairley at Pleasant Grove Baptist Church in Shepherdsville, that I would be reaching out to Sunrise.”
Sullivan did just that. And then she waited. And prayed. Her specific prayer was: “Lord, I’m putting out the fleece. If our church or myself were supposed to connect to Sunrise, just have the person that I talk to contact Brother Robbie and say this is the place.” God answered. But not exactly in the way she asked.
Shortly after her talk with her pastor, and while she was eating out with some of her friends, Brother Robbie Fairley called her. And missed her. Sullivan called back. But he missed her call. Finally, they connected. “You know that fleece you put out about Sunrise?” Fairley told her over the phone. “Well, the person that you wanted to contact me didn’t, but Stewart stopped by here and wanted to know what you all are going to do.” (Stewart Haag is the activities and volunteer coordinator at Sunrise’s Spring Meadows Center in Mt. Washington). “I think you got your answer,” Fairley concluded.
That began four years ago. From the very start, Sullivan wanted to find a mission at Spring Meadows that no one else was fulfilling. Stewart Haag suggested coming once a month to celebrate birthdays because a lot of the boys had never had a birthday party. Sullivan loved the idea. “The first Sunday of every month, regardless if there’s a birthday or not, we come over and have cake,” Sullivan shared. “It’s a birthday cake if there are birthdays; if not, we just do some kind of cake.” Since then, Sullivan and her church have added Christmas. But for Sullivan, the birthday celebrations will always be her called mission. “Our birthdays are our thing,” she explained.
Along with a cake, Sullivan and a small group of three other church members lead a one-hour party with all the boys and leave behind a gift for the birthday boy. Four years ago, the birthday gift was actually a two-dollar bill. “The two-dollar bill got started with our first group,” said Sullivan. “They enjoyed getting the two-dollar bills. They got it, and they were like, ‘I got a two-dollar bill!’” Today, Sullivan and her group give the birthday boys at Spring Meadows gift cards or other items, adapting to the new boys in the program and to their interests.
But what Sullivan hopes most to give to the boys is something long lasting and even life changing. “We share the gospel with them; that’s our main goal,” she said. One young man from Spring Meadows accepted Jesus as his savior and was baptized in Pleasant Grove Baptist Church the first year of the birthday parties. “I want (the boys) to take away that there are people in the world that care about them, and there is a church in Bullitt County that has been faithful to them,” Sullivan continued. “These boys have been let down by the very people that should love them the most. And they get forgotten . . . . Our main thing is that somebody out there cares about them.”
Sullivan understands that there are many misconceptions about the boys who live at Spring Meadows Center. “Yes, there are some here because of bad choices that they made, but there are groups here that have different needs; they are the victims,” she said. “So, it doesn’t matter why they’re here; this is our opportunity. You know, either be a part of the solution, or you’re a part of the problem.”
It is clear that Sullivan is passionate about her ministry to the Spring Meadows boys. “Those boys have stolen my heart.” she stated. “It just makes my heart happy to be around them. They lift me up. I enjoy they’re company; I enjoy they’re honesty. And, I don’t know, I just love being around them.”
One of the many boys at Spring Meadows who captured Sullivan’s heart is Josh.* “He wanted to be a chef – a chef!” Wanda exclaimed. “And this kid, every month we would go, it would be like, ‘Miss Wanda, I have a new recipe for you.’ We were talking about hot chocolate. ‘Put some peppermint in that hot chocolate.’ And every time I do that now, I think about (Josh).”
For Sullivan, these monthly birthday parties are truly a mission given to her by God alone. “My prayer is that whatever God wants to do with Pleasant Grove in this ministry – if it’s to do the birthday party once a month until He calls us home, or in another way – then I want Him to lead this ministry,” she explained. “I thank Him for giving it to me, but I don’t own it.”
And all of us at Sunrise thank you, Wanda Sullivan, along with your church group and everyone at Pleasant Grove Baptist Church in Shepherdsville for consistently and genuinely caring for the boys who live at Sunrise’s Spring Meadows Center in Mt. Washington. You are helping our kids know they are valued, much more than a two-dollar bill.
