Before you read: This story has a video that enhances the visual story telling. Take a moment to watch the Flowers and Dreams film here.
Connie Maxwell: A Beautiful Bouquet
Connie Maxwell Children’s Ministries is like a bouquet of flowers. Exceptional arrangements include blooms of different sizes, textures, and colors tucked among the greenery, inviting your eyes to explore the beauty from every vantage point. An artful arranger trims floral stems to help rehydrate them for the display, gently encouraging fragile blooms to open a bit more to showcase the varied shades that exist within the petals. Creative, unexpected placements make the overall display more interesting while allowing each stem to shine.
Connie Maxwell’s For the Dreams of Children 2024 Fall Gala was held on November 15 and began with imagery of this kind of floral arrangement, brought to life through a film narrated by students voicing dreams for their future. The collective beauty of flowers depicts the heart of the mission, which is to love vulnerable children well, equip them with independent living skills, and introduce them to a loving God who will never leave them.
The Gala debuted other video testimonials and depictions of the ministry’s commitment to restoring the faith, family, and future of these children and their families through services that have emphasized ministry and healing for more than 130 years. In attendance were honored guests, community leaders, valued partners, as well as current and former students. It was a night filled with celebration and hope.
President Danny Nicholson reminded the audience that “the greatest dream for a child is to be loved. And even deeper, and the center of our mission at Connie Maxwell, is for them to love and be loved by their Creator and to have this love solidly planted in their hearts.”
Dreams Are Becoming Reality
The generous and faithful giving of Connie Maxwell donors was celebrated during the evening, which included the unveiling of several significant gifts linked to the Decade of Dreams Campaign. Larry and Jerry Anne Faulkenberry announced a $2 million gift toward the planned building of a cutting-edge, 40,000 square foot healing and trauma center on the main campus. The facility will advance research, education, and implement “cutting edge”interventions for children and families affected by trauma.
President Danny Nicholson called the healing center a “bridge between brokenness and being whole. We’ve learned so much now about the heart, the brain, and the spirit. We can put those things together to be much more productive in our ability to make human beings whole and to nurture them.”
The Faulkenberrys’ many ties to Connie Maxwell include their family’s adoption story and the invitation to manage Maxwell Farms. The couple wrestled with the opportunity at the time but ultimately decided Jerry would continue with his timber and land real estate businesses in order to pursue a second adoption for their family. The decision to decline working with Connie Maxwell haunted the couple who says God used it to prompt them to give from the financial blessings they had received through the years.
“He set another path for us,” Jerry Anne shares. “And I think that’s how we ended up with the life we have. This is our time to be able to give back to Connie Maxwell. This is our second chance.”
The Faulkenberrys offered a second surprise during the Gala by announcing their preference that the healing center not bear their names but, instead, become the Danny and Debra Nicholson Healing Center to “reflect the Nicholsons’ tireless dedication to the ministry.”
Calling the honor “one of the most gracious things I’ve ever seen done in all my career of fundraising,” Nicholson told the couple they “have profoundly changed my life, and inspire me to continue surrendering my time, my life, and my money to what is most important – Jesus and children.”
For his part, Larry Faulkenberry invited the audience to join them in other forms of giving to vulnerable children because “those of us who have the means to help should step up and be counted. What better thing to leave your money to than to a mission like this that touches the children and mothers, too.”
Expanding to the Lowcountry
Connie Maxwell announced another dream for children that is becoming a reality – the opening of a new campus in the Charleston area. Citing an unprecedented increase in brokenness and trauma in the world today, Nicholson shared that despite the ministry’s 130 years of existence in South Carolina “we’ve never been in the Lowcountry. It is important for us to move to a place where the density of need is great.”
Nicholson described first learning about an anonymous $2 million gift over a year ago during a phone call with a financial advisor. The donors, who were eventually identified as Mike and Suzie Kocak, wanted to help establish Connie Maxwell’s new campus on James Island. Nicholson announced during the Gala that the Kocak family’s gift is in honor of Mike’s best friend and Connie Maxwell Alumni Billy Ridgill.
“We need more people like Billy in the world and this gift is our way of ensuring that happens,” Mike Kocak said of his family’s donation.
Noting this special friendship, Nicholson officially presented The Kocak Campus “for the family’s legacy, for the dreams of the children of Charleston, and to fill the world with Billy Ridgills.”
Inaugural Aspen Award Recipient Recognized
Nicholson introduced Ruth Graham as the recipient of Connie Maxwell’s inaugural Aspen Award, in recognition of her dedication to ministry and the healing of children and families. Citing Graham’s many ministry impacts, Nicholson said she is “a gift from God to thousands of people, including me.”
Following an introduction from her son Graham Dienert who referred to his mother as a “hero,” Graham accepted the award by saying it was undeserved but meant a great deal to her. “It’s God’s faithfulness. He will be faithful to these kids and will not let them down. I accept this on behalf of Jesus, if this is something I can put at His feet one day.”
“Ruth Graham has dedicated her life to loving and healing others. She exemplifies the essence of this award,” Nicholson told the audience.
Gaining Momentum as Connie Maxwell Looks to the Future
Citing great momentum in giving and sacrificial gifts, Nicholson announced the Board of Trustees and For the Dreams of Children Steering Committee’s decision to increase Connie Maxwell’s initial giving goal of $10 million to $25 million. “We’ve already surpassed expectations, but we remain committed to being fiscally responsible,” Nicholson said, adding “I pray you’ll come with us and be a part of that moving forward.”
Future campus improvement projects were also unveiled during the Gala. A 3,000-seat amphitheater will be constructed on Connie Maxwell’s 450-acre farm. The space will host public events, which can also provide alternative revenue streams. Cottages and some historic buildings will undergo renovations soon to enhance services to children and families.
As Connie Maxwell Children’s Ministries passionately pursues its vision of becoming a national leader in healing and ministry to vulnerable children and their families, beautiful floral arrangements will continue to be cultivated on campus each day. As stems are lovingly pruned to allow for blooms to be revived and stand tall once again, each flower within the arrangement will always be encouraged to shine with its unique beauty.
Fueled by God’s love and supported by God’s people, Connie Maxwell is committed to a future of healing and hope For the Dreams of Children.
