Every building on the Presbyterian Home for Children campus has witnessed lives being transformed.
Names such as Robinson, Whitfield, Ramsey, Uptain and First Decatur are residential cottages which have sheltered children and families facing uncertainty. Over the last 10 years, Johnson Hall has helped young women at risk prepare for independent futures. The chapel has been a place in years past where prayers were offered in moments of joy and heartbreak alike.
For more than 158 years, these buildings have quietly supported the Home’s mission. Today, PHFC is making sure they can continue doing so for generations to come.
The Journey Capital Campaign, a $1.7 million effort beginning spring of 2025 through the end of 2027 to restore, improve and beautify facilities across campus, is gaining momentum thanks to generous supporters who recognize that preserving the Home’s historic campus is essential to preserving its mission.
“We often talk about changing lives, but places matter in this process,” said PHFC President and CEO Doug Marshall. “The environments where children heal, where mothers rebuild their families, and where young adults learn independence have a direct impact on their success. This campaign is about creating spaces that reflect the dignity, hope, and opportunity we want every resident to experience.”
Support for the campaign has come from across Alabama and beyond.
One of the largest gifts was provided by Providence Presbyterian Church in Montgomery, which designated $611,100 to PHFC when the congregation closed in 2025. In recognition of that extraordinary generosity, the Home’s restored chapel will be named in honor of Providence Presbyterian Church, ensuring the congregation’s ministry continues through the lives touched on campus. After new flooring is laid with a rear concrete deck and ramp along with sidewalk improvements, Westminster Memorial Cottage will have been completely renovated top to bottom since the beginning of this campaign. Providence was a merger of Westminster Presbyterian Church and Memorial Presbyterian Church, both in Montgomery.
The campaign also received a significant boost from Calhoun Presbyterian Apartments Foundation in Anniston, which contributed $100,000 for this campaign and $180,000 earlier for deferred maintenance and campus improvements. In a letter accompanying the gift, foundation leaders praised the Home’s commitment to serving vulnerable children and families and expressed confidence in its future.
Additional funding has come from the sale of a cell phone tower on former PHFC property in Talladega, contributing $200,000 toward campus improvements, a $25,000 Honda grant for sidewalk improvements, and a donated unimproved neighborhood lot in Shelby County which sold for $15,000.
The campaign has also been strengthened by a deeply personal gift from alumna Patsy Hollingsworth Deverse and her husband, Frank. Patsy lived at the Home from 1942 until 1952 and remembers the stability and encouragement she found during her childhood on campus. Wanting future generations to have the same opportunity, the couple contributed $108,000 to the campaign.
An additional $69,303 was specifically raised for the campaign during the Mother’s Day Appeal.
With these gifts, the Home has reduced its remaining capital campaign needed to fund crucial improvements to $423,600. While substantial progress has been made on our residential cottages and supportive buildings by our amazing staff and contractors, more work remains.
Among the major projects planned is the renovation of Johnson Hall, which opened in 1923. The historic building now serves young women participating in PHFC’s Transition to Adult Living (TAL) program. “I’m excited that these needed improvements will help ensure our residents continue to have a safe, comfortable home while pursuing education, employment, and personal goals,” said Elivia Santana, Director of TAL. “We are also providing allowances for each young lady to decorate and personalize their own bedrooms during the renovations.” Across campus, Jordan Cottage now has a new roof with renovated exterior trim but awaits extensive interior renovations to its foundation for the front living room and a large bathroom along with identified electrical, lighting, flooring and painting needs.
Another highly anticipated project is the restoration of the campus chapel. For years, the chapel served as a spiritual center of campus life. Once renovated, it will again become a gathering place for worship, Bible studies, counseling, prayer, and reflection.
“Our families carry tremendous burdens when they arrive here,” said Rev. Leeann Scarbrough, PHFC’s Spiritual Life Director. “Having a dedicated space where someone can sit quietly, pray, read Scripture, or simply find peace can make a meaningful difference. I believe the chapel will become one of the most important places on campus.”
The area that once housed the campus swimming pool was reimagined by Wes Harry, Director of Physical Plant, as the Felicia Ayers Storey Playground and Pavilion. Designed as a welcoming and beautiful outdoor space for children and families in the Secure Dwellings program, the project that opened in May provides opportunities for play, fellowship, and family connection.
The playground honors the memory of Felicia Ayers Storey, whose nearly four decades of service helped shape the Home’s ministry and culture. Gifts made in her memory are helping create a space that reflects her lifelong commitment to children and families.
As construction and restoration projects move forward, the Journey Capital Campaign represents more than deferred maintenance or facility upgrades. It is an investment in the future of every child, mother, and young woman who will walk through PHFC’s doors seeking hope.
With the support of faithful donors, that foundation will remain strong for many years to come.
