For more than 120 years, Palmer Home has provided superior care for children while introducing the love of God through service. Kirby and Glenn Floyd hosted the Shotguns & Sunflowers elegant al fresco dinner party that is an annual fundraiser for Palmer Home. What began as an orphanage in Columbus, Mississippi, has expanded its capabilities to provide foster care, family care, campus care, and transitional care to better meet the specific needs of each child and their family.

Serving individual children and sibling groups, Palmer Home for Children provides a family and community to children in need regardless of race, gender or background. palmerhome.org

The Palmer Home for Children leadership announced a lead gift from Kirby and Glenn Floyd at this year’s Shotguns and Sunflowers annual fundraising event, and the gift launches a $7 million capital campaign to build the Dr. Hugh Francis, Jr. Wellness Center in Hernando, Mississippi.

The 24,000-square-foot structure will be a central gathering place for children, houseparents, counselors, and staff located in the heart of the residential campus. The Wellness Center will house an academic suite, counseling suite, administrative suite, a full-court gymnasium, 4,800-square-foot pool, and The Gathering Place, a large multi-purpose room with an industrialized kitchen.

“We took the time to evaluate the needs of the children in our care, and we created a specific design that would provide for their restoration and personal development,” said Drake Bassett, CEO & President. “The Wellness Center will be a trauma-responsive space that is designed to encourage physical and emotional healing, as well as educational and spiritual growth.”

The Wellness Center will be named in honor of Dr. Hugh Francis, Jr. who faithfully served the children at Palmer Home as a board member for more than 50 years. This building will be a tribute to Dr. Francis’s commitment to the mission of Palmer Home.

“We are incredibly grateful to the generous individuals, businesses, foundations, and churches that have already come on board to support this effort,” said Robert Farris, Vice President of Expansion at Palmer Home. “We invite every member of the Palmer Home family to help us complete our goal by contributing at any level.”

For more information, please call 662-328-5704 or visit www.palmerhome.org/wellnesscenter.