Paintings for Brantwood

My Junior League Placement this year is a great organization called Brantwood Children's Home. I posted a link and some information below. For our placement, we are taking them back to school shopping, throwing them a back to school party and redoing a recreation room. Somehow in our brainstorming meeting about designing the recreation room I volunteered to paint a couple of pictures in less than a week. We were originally just doing the room for the boys and I found it very hard to think of any paintings a teenage boy would like but I finally came up with a couple ideas at the last minute. To top it off, I found out yesterday that the location of the room has changed so the girls can use it too. I was very excited that the girls would also benefit from the room but realized I now needed at least one girl painting too. So, I ended up painting 3 paintings last night. I was very rushed, but I think they turned out ok. I am going to paint quotes on the walls tomorrow night so I will keep you posted on how it goes.











http://www.oprah.com/angelnetwork/Brantwood-Childrens-Home-Angel-Network-Award


In 1917, the members of the Sociological Committee of the Federation of Women's Club in Montgomery noticed that children were being placed in the county jail for care when their mothers were arrested. The Committee also discovered other distressing conditions throughout the city where children were living in chaotic family situations and did not provide even minimum opportunities for healthy growth and development. As a result, the Federation of Women's Club organized the Children Protective Association and raised the funds to rent an old home and hire a child-care matron. The property was purchased and reconstructed and is now known as Brantwood.

Brantwood currently provides care and supervision for up to 30 boys and girls who are dependent, neglected and/or abused and who are in need of care away from the parental home, from ages 10-21 as long as they are attending college or technical school.

Brantwood's program stresses finding the strengths and need in each child's life and addresses them individually. Children are encouraged to maintain contact with their families when appropriate. They are counseled by professionals to rebuild their lives. They are supported and encouraged, given medical and dental care and are enrolled in either academic or vocational programs in local schools. In addition, the children are encouraged to become involved in community activities, which gives them the opportunity to build new relationships and further develop their social skills.

Brantwood offers many programs such as the Independent Living Program, which is a long-term, on-site campus that teachers foster teens the tools, skills, knowledge and experience needed to secure employment, housing and assume responsibility once they leave the foster care system. Training is provided through workbooks, personal instruction, and workshops. During 2002, Brantwood Children's Home expanded its facility and completed the construction of an on-site educational facility built specifically for the educational program.

The Respite Care Services affords children living with foster families an opportunity to spend two to three days away from home each month. This is offered as a crisis prevention and/or crisis stabilization service.

The Behavioral Aide Program provides one-on-one attention to children with emotional and behavioral problems. The primary goal of this service is placement stabilization.

The Transitional Living Program allows older, adolescent foster youth to live in an apartment and receive some financial support, independent living instruction transportation and limited supervision while remaining in the foster care system. The goal of this system is to break the child abuse and welfare cycles.

The Independent Living Program allows the older children transition into society by temporarily providing financial support, while they are in school and seeking employment. As the students progress, Brantwood is able to slowly withdraw and eventually help that person become completely independent.