The Georgia Industrial Children’s Home is a the massive white-columned brick building crowns the hillside on North Mumford Road, visible through the branches of sheltering pecan trees.  Its nearby cottages provide shelter to the succession of children who come there, often in crisis and always in need of the warmth and professional care such a home provides.

The children are there because of one man, the late Rev. William E. Mumford, who founded the Home and ran it until his death in 1906, shortly before the headquarters building named for him was completed.  Mumford’s dream was of a farm, where orphaned children would raise cattle and crops under his supervision, the proceeds from which would provide their food, clothing and home-like shelter.

Today, the Home’s children and teens come from all points in Georgia and arrive through the state Department of Family and Children Services or the Department of Juvenile Justice. Few are orphans; most are victims of abuse or neglect.  The staff including licensed psychologists and psychiatrists, strives daily to mitigate the effects of a variety of troubled backgrounds.

When the Home’s administrators began seeking a more stable funding source, they met with the Community Foundation of Central Georgia and determined that they needed an organizational endowment fund. The Fund is growing, and the hope is that more donors will consider a planned giving to benefit the Home’s Endowment Fund, which will help children.