Learning continues for Thornwell students during summer break. When children were not away at camp or on vacation, they came to the Learning Center for fifty minutes per day on Mondays through Thursdays to maintain or improve their math and reading skills. Our post-tests for math have not yet been completed so we cannot report on those gains, but we can report on the number of students meeting their summer reading goals.

Eighty-five percent of our children satisfactorily participated in the Accelerated Reader Program, and fifty-nine percent met their goals. The children who met their goals attended a celebration party with pizza, ice cream sundaes, and prizes on Friday, August 12, at the Learning Center.

The staff and children enjoyed a covered dish luncheon on Wednesday, August 10. Our time together was a great opportunity to celebrate the children’s achievements over the summer months. We recognized and congratulated those who reached their ARP goals, learned to swim, earned belts in karate, and earned spots on school sports and track teams. We also recognized those who worked on summer missions projects – roofing houses, painting and doing yard work for families in need. It is always fun to have our staff and children together for fellowship. We concluded our celebration together with treats provided by Jack and Linda Wheeler of Key Distributors LLC, Chapin, SC – chocolate-covered, key lime ice cream on a stick – YUM!

Many thanks to stylists, Terry Ann, Kenna, Adelle, Kim, Lauren, Rebekah and Austin for hosting a “Friends for Thornwell” fundraiser at Terry Ann’s Salon and Boutique during the last two weeks of July. Together, they raised nearly $1000 in support for Thornwell’s children by sharing the Thornwell story with their customers, collecting donations and donating a portion of their earnings to the ministry. “We love to support ministries that help children,” said Terry Ann. “We were all so glad to have the opportunity to tell our customers about Thornwell and the children who live there.” Terry Ann’s Salon and Boutique is located at 1860 Woodruff Road in Simpsonville, SC.

On Tuesday, July 12, Dempsey’s Pizza hosted a pizza night for Thornwell. Nearly 300 Thornwell fans and Dempsey’s pizza lovers came out to show their support for Thornwell’s ministry to children. At the end of the evening, Dempsey’s donated 10% of the day’s proceeds to Thornwell.

“Thornwell has been a big part of this community for a lot of years,” says Dempsey’s owner, Tony Dempsey. “We are glad to have the opportunity to do whatever we can to help support the ministry and care for the children.”

Dempsey’s Pizza is located on 910 South Broad Street in Clinton, SC. The pizzeria serves lunch and dinner and is open daily from 11:00 am to 9:00 pm.

Many thanks to Jack and Linda Wheeler, owners of Keys Distributors, LLC, Chapin, SC, for sharing wonderful ice cream treats with our children on July 14.

Following our campus-wide Thursday night Supper Club held in the MAC during the summer, Jack and Linda served key lime and mango chocolate covered ice cream to everyone – YUM!

On Sunday, March 13, 2011 the additional living space added to Berkele Cottage was dedicated to the service of children.

In an expression of gratitude, Berkele Family Teacher, Mike Collins, told the crowd, “This new addition means that our cottage can stay together as a family. We’ll get to see all our girls grow up together. I’d like to thank everyone who has made this possible.”

Berkele Cottage is home to the largest cottage family on Thornwell’s campus. In addition to the eight girls who call Berkele home, there are two sets of Family Teachers, each with two biological children, bringing the total number of family members to sixteen.

Before offering a prayer of dedication, Thornwell Interim President, Dr. Charles Elliott, thanked all those whose gifts made the renovation possible, calling each by name. He also thanked Miss Mamie Berkele, whose original gift of $79,000 paid for the construction of Berkele Cottage in 1962.

Refreshments and cottage tours followed the dedication service.

Five adults and five youth arrived on campus Friday evening, March 18 2011, from Christ Presbyterian Church, Tallahassee, FL, with a goal of learning as much as they could about how Thornwell ministers to children in need, and how they could be of help. On Saturday morning Thornwell’s Director of Sponsorship, Chandra Coleman, took the group on a tour of campus and shared with them the rich history of the ministry and how Thornwell meets the needs of the children we serve today.

Following the tour, the group met with Thornwell Missions Coordinator, Ann Felton, to learn what work needed to be done on campus. Due to a rainy forecast, the original plan of sealing the deck at Wilson Cottage was cancelled. Instead, the group raked and mulched around the administration building, helped to move furniture at the lake house, cleaned gutters at the pavilion, and built a raised-bed vegetable garden at TPH Cottage. The boys of TPH Cottage pitched in to help build the vegetable garden, as well as work on the other projects.

Following a full day of work, the group took a tour of TPH Cottage and join in for a campus-wide pizza supper at the MAC. On Sunday morning, they worshiped with the TPH Cottage family at Lydia Presbyterian Church. After lunch, the TPH boys helped plant the vegetables and flowers in the raised garden.

“It was a great couple of days,” said Chandra. “It was lots of fun for our boys to have an opportunity to spend some time with such nice folks.”

Thanks for the visit and all the good work, Christ PC!

During the week of March 13, 2011, a great group of volunteers from the University of Georgia gave up their spring break to spend time on Thornwell’s campus sprucing up the grounds and doing a bit of “spring cleaning” in several of the buildings on campus.

Each year, many University of Georgia (UGA) students take part in the UGA Alternative Spring Break program. The program’s mission is to “engage students in an affordable, week-long substance-free, experiential service learning project that encourages an understanding of pressing social issues in a significant way.”

The group of twenty undergraduate and graduate students arrived in Clinton on Saturday, March 12, and unpacked for their week-long stay at First Presbyterian Church, Clinton’s Family Life Center.

During their week of service they did all sorts of projects from setting up for a campus-wide hotdog supper, to cleaning out the drama storage building and spreading mulch across campus. The students also volunteered at the Boys and Girls Club in Greenville, SC, and at St. Lawrence Place in Columbia, SC.

“This group really worked hard,” said Thornwell Christian Educator, Finley Sutton.
“We really appreciated the help cleaning and organizing our storage areas. They look great.”

Many thanks to First Presbyterian Church, Clinton for providing the accommodations for these great volunteers. We’d also like to thank
Doug Hendricks, owner of Steamers Cafe, downtown Clinton, for providing lunch for the group.