100 years of providing a home

PORTALES - For 100 years the New Mexico Baptist Children's Home has provided a place for children who have lost their family or been forced out of their homes to live and grow in a safe environment.

Things have changed drastically for the organization over its existence, but its commitment to helping children in need and instilling positive values in its wards has not.

Today, the Children's Home is run by President and CEO Randy Rankin, who has been working to expand its scope and the services it offers for both the children under its care and the Portales community at large.

"We try to stay as involved as we can with everything that goes on in this community. We strive to produce productive citizens and provide an alternative to a previous life that they've left, which may not be their fault and possibly that of their parents," Rankin said.

The Children's Home takes in children from age 5 until they graduate high school, sometimes taking in younger children if they're part of a sibling group.

According to Case Manager Betty McConnell, the Children's Home usually only takes in the children they're equipped to handle and not those who are suffering from more extreme conditions.

"We're a basic care facility, so the children need to come in with a little bit of trust so they can get along with the other residents," McConnell said. "We can offer services like counseling, but we're not staffed to equip things like a child being a drug addict. They can't be a runaway risk because being an open campus. They could run off whenever they wanted to."

Rankin said the Children's Home runs entirely off donations, with no money given by the state.

To commemorate the 100-year anniversary, the Children's Home built a replica of the Baptist Church's first building from 1919 on their campus over the summer.

The Children's Home is also holding celebrations this week that started with a banquet on Monday to honor the Women's Missionary Union, which has worked closely with the Children's Home since its founding. Today, the New Mexico Baptist Convention will gather at the Children's Home for its annual statewide meeting.

The Children's Home was founded in 1919 after an influenza epidemic left many children orphans. The home was a local project at first, but expanded its scope to cater to the entire state within its first year.

When it was founded, the Children's Home started with a two-story building, but soon outgrew that space and expanded to a 40-acre farm. It expanded again in 1921 when it purchased more property to reach its current 300 acres of land.

A red brick building was constructed in 1924, which still stands today, with cottages for boys and girls later built in 1941 and 1948, respectively, and replaced over the years. The facilities continued to grow, adding more cottages, a storage building, an administrative building, a gymnasium, a playground, sports facilities and a barn.

Currently the home has four cottage buildings that can house 8-10 children each, with the max capacity for the organization being 36. There are currently 18 residents, including two college-age residents in transitional living.

Recently, the Children's Home has expanded to include a Family Ministries branch, adding to its name and creating new programs. This includes the Christian Men and Christian Women's Job Core to train people in basic job skills and money management. The new program also added a licensed councilor and adoption worker to the staff.

The home also has a 4-H program run by Jamie Smylie and Leven Levecy, which has found success at the fair and has served as a valuable way for new residents to adapt to the home.

"It shows the kids a lot of responsibility and having that responsibility over another living thing teaches them to work hard and play hard," Smylie said. "It's a quick turnover and at the end of 3-4 months they're seeing the results of their work. For those that are coming from broken homes, a lot of them are shut off and don't have great relationships with the other kids, but can really begin to open up when it comes to the animals."

Looking forward, Rankin plans to expand the Children's Home by creating campuses in Estancia and Alamogordo.

"We're branching out. We've had a successful 100 years and now we're looking at what we can do over the next 100 years," Rankin said.