Last modified: Thursday, March 20, 2008 4:04 PM CDT Palmer Home a blessing for Grant By Amanda Compton-Ortiz/amanda@dctribune.com Joining the staff of Palmer Home for Children is a blessing for Kristin Grant. Before landing her new job at the not-for-profit public charity in November, Grant worked in pharmaceutical sales. The routine of working 12-hour days and barely having enough time at home to be with her family began to take a toll and Grant knew it was time to make a career change. Every day for the last several years, while bouncing around from job to job, Grant said she spent a lot of time praying for God to lead her life and her career in the direction it needed to go. “I was praying for a way to continue a career, serve the Lord, and be a wife and a mother,” she said. “And then one day I got a call that there was a job opening at Palmer Home. It was truly a miracle. I really felt like God had answered my prayers.” Palmer Home for Children, established in 1895, is a ministry to children in need who are growing up as social orphans without the nurture and support of a loving family. For more than 100 years, Palmer Home has provided a stable, Christ-centered home life built on loving one-to-one relationships. It has remained committed to privately-funded, non-government child care which keeps siblings together, models evangelical Christian values, mends emotional scars, restores self-esteem, and provides for each child the full opportunity to reach his or her God-given potential. Palmer is currently home to nearly 100 children, birth to college ages, between three Mississippi campuses, located in Columbus, Lucedale and Hernando, including 13 college students. The children come to Palmer Home from different locations throughout the United States with varying backgrounds and unique situations. They live year-round in cottages, each holding between eight and 10 children, and receive nurturing and guidance from permanent houseparent couples. The children attend public school, and tutors and counselors are available to them on site. There are about 16 children who reside on the 5-year-old, 150-acre Hernando campus, which has three donated cottages, including two that house children and one that houses administrative offices, as well as a donated chapel and playground, all overlooking a 70-acre lake. Grant, 35, of Germantown, works at the Hernando campus about three days a week. In her position as director of groups and events, vacated last year by Mary Margaret Burnette, she plays a big role in Palmer’s growing outreach, helping to build friendships between Palmer Home and other groups and organizations. She also helps coordinate efforts of the campus’ events commitee members, who she says, “work hard and put their hearts and minds into making Palmer Home events successful.” Grant and the committees are now preparing for the ministry’s major fund-raiser of the year, Mudbug Bash. The fourth annual event, sponsored by BankPlus, will be held at 7 p.m. May 3 just off the Hernando Town Square on Panola Street. It will feature a silent auction, soulful Zydeco sounds, live music by Almost Famous, and all-you-can-eat mudbugs, or crawfish. The first official Mudbug King, Palmer Home child Joseph Nguyen, 13, will also be recognized at the event. Tickets are $50 per person. All proceeds from the event will go to support Palmer Home. Last year, the event helped raise about $80,000 for the ministry. This year’s fund-raising goal is $100,000, Grant said. Sponsorship opportunities for the event will be available through April 1. While Grant enjoys playing a significant role in helping to garner support for Palmer Home, perhaps the most satisfying part of her job is being able to witness the positive effects the ministry has on children. “I love the Lord, I have a passion for children, and I love meeting people and planning events, so this job is truly a blessing for me,” Grant said. “During my short time here, I’ve seen so many children grow physically, emotionally and spiritually. Watching these children become young adults is very fulfilling. “My life is touched every day.” Palmer Home came to DeSoto County when the Hernando campus was opened about 10 years ago with help from its executive director, Robert Farris, who lives in a house on the campus with his wife Ginger. One of the campus’ full-time volunteers and houseparents, Lisa Langley, along with her husband Mike, also live on site. The Langleys have agreed to donate their house to the campus when they no longer occupy it. “I am amazed at how the people in DeSoto County have embraced Palmer Home,” Grant said. “The organization is entirely supported by voluntary gifts from individuals, foundations, churches, and corporations. On this campus, almost all of the buildings have been donated, and the amount of work that gets done by such a small staff is wonderful. It is truly amazing how God works through others to provide for this organization.” Grant, originally from Clarksdale, Miss., said she was first introduced to Palmer Home in the early 1990’s while attending Mississippi State, where she earned her Bachelor of Business Administration in Marketing degree. She had the opportunity to meet children staying at the ministry during a cookout organized by her sorority. It was then that Grant believes the seed of her love and appreciation for Palmer Home and its mission was planted. “Once you fall in love with Palmer Home, it’s a part of your heart forever,” Grant said. “I am hoping my daughter, she’s 7, will come to love Palmer as much as I do and pass that love from generation to generation.” For more information about Palmer Home or its upcoming Mudbug Bash fund-raiser, call Kristin Grant at (662) 449-2400, (901) 277-8051.