Orangeburg home for youth to close in May 2023

Connie Maxwell Children’s Ministries, established in 1892 by the South Carolina Baptist Convention, has announced that it is closing the doors at the Brookland Campus at 3105 Five Chop Road effective May 2023.

“This decision has not been made lightly and has involved many days of consideration, deliberating, and wrestling in prayer by all involved,” the CMCM said in a statement on its website. “The Orangeburg location has stood as a beacon of hope for children in this community for many years now, and we honor and celebrate the children whose lives have been impacted at this campus.”

“We also recognize the people who have served those children — the staff that has served and currently serve, and the donors who sacrificed to make our Orangeburg campus a reality,” the statement continued. “Eternity will record the wonderful things that have happened there, and many souls will forever point to this campus as the place they met Jesus and found healing.”

The decision to close was made by the CMCM Board of Trustees and its executive council.

The organization cites the main reason for closure as costly and extensive upgrades and repairs needed at the Orangeburg location, as well as a $2 million gift to start a Charleston campus.

“With these two things in mind, we believe it will produce the most help to our children to take the resources that would be put into repairs and updates at Orangeburg and instead point them in the direction of Charleston,” the CMCM said.

“Our resources that currently go to Brookland, plus the resources that would be required to update Brookland, plus the $2 million gift to start Charleston, are all going to come together to build something extraordinary in one of South Carolina’s fastest growing and most historic cities, where many of our current children can be served, and many more are waiting for the hope and healing that Connie Maxwell will bring.”

The Orangeburg Connie Maxwell home currently houses eight children.

“In the effort to put the needs of our children above all else, children will be completing the 2022-2023 academic school year,” CMCM said. “Once that concludes, arrangements will be made for the children who remain in our care to transition to another Connie Maxwell location. “Siblings will remain together and not be separated.”

“Decisions on which location children will transition to will be based on how to best serve each child and sibling group based on their specific needs,” the CMCM said. “No child we serve will be forgotten or left behind, and we believe that with this move, all of our children will benefit, including the ones currently residing at the Brookland Campus.”

CMCM officials say there is a strong likelihood the children could all end up in the same place.

The new Charleston location will include a crisis care home, along with family care services to serve single parents and their dependents. Additionally, the new location will provide office space for a foster care licensing specialist who serves foster parents in this area, CMCM said.

Prior to construction of the Charleston home, CMCM will direct children to four of its other locations (Greenwood, Mauldin, Florence and Chesterfield).

“Our strategy and goal is to serve children at a CMCM location closest to their biological family because we know this helps support regular visits and reunification into healthier situations (when possible),” CMCM said.

 “Although it will take time to build our new location in The greater Charleston Area, we are prepared and eager to serve children in the meantime from the Lowcountry at our other four locations.

“While the distance between children and their biological families can create logistical challenges, we are prepared to overcome these temporary obstacles knowing that serving children in this area will continue to meet a critical need,” CMCM said.

The CMCM’s eight employees in Orangeburg will be offered employment opportunities at other CMCM locations.

CMCM has engaged the services of Wilson Kibler, a company that specializes in similar real estate transactions.

The proceeds from the sale of the Orangeburg site and the donation will provide the financial means to build the Charleston campus, CMCM says.

Senior Vice President for Ministry Strategy and Engagement Jay Boyd said there are a number of structures on the property.

“There has been a lot of interest and conversations,” Boyd said.

Despite the closure of its Orangeburg campus, the CMCM believes its mission will continue to grow as it has outlined a 10-year strategic plan, A Decade of Dreams.

Among the projects are:

• Newly renovated cottages at the Greenwood location that will soon begin serving more children.
• Growth of the Family Care ministry through the renovation of a historic building at the Greenwood campus that will allow the organization to begin serving more single mothers and their children starting in 2023.
• Growth of the foster care ministry, which has trained, licensed and equipped more than 45 foster parents across the state to care for children. This number is growing by the month and the organization’s goal is to serve 200 foster parents by 2030.

The Connie Maxwell homes had their origin when Dr. J.C. Maxwell’s daughter, Connie, became ill with scarlet fever and died at age 7.

Maxwell and wife Sarah wanted to make sure their daughter was never forgotten and so in 1891, the couple offered the South Carolina Baptist Convention their 470-acre farm in Greenwood.

The conditions were that the land be used to help needy children and that it always bear the name of their daughter.

On May 22, 1892, the first child, Susie H. Burton from Newberry, arrived on campus. By the end of the first year, there were 26 children in residence.

Fast forward to the late 1950s when the late Rev. Ralph Wentling and his wife, Helen, wanted to create a refuge for boys facing problems.

The couple purchased an old, abandoned plantation home in 1958 on Edisto Island that served as the first Brookland campus. It was called the Brookland Home for Boys.

The campus relocated to Orangeburg in 1967, settling in a historic home at 3089 Five Chop Road.

The Brookland Home for Boys merged with the Connie Maxwell Children’s Home in 1993. The Connie Maxwell Orangeburg facility is across the street from that original house.

The approximately 160-acre Orangeburg campus is the second largest of five operated by CMCM.