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 A brief history of the Odd Fellows and Christian
Child Care
The United States Odd Fellows was founded by Thomas Wilde in 1819 at
the Seven Stars Tavern in Baltimore, MD.
The International Order of Odd Fellows website says, “Our legacy has
been 200 years of helping each other and others without seeking
anything in return.”
Melissa Richards, who works with the Odd Fellows, said the actual
anniversary was in April, but The Children's Home Board decided to
have a picnic for the 200th Anniversary in June.
The property in Lincoln houses the Illinois offices for the
Oddfellows and the building that Christian Childcare rents was the
orphanage of the Oddfellows. Richards said there have been many
children throughout the years at this facility.
Times changed and Richards said the orphanage was closed when the
Oddfellows gave up their residential license for the orphanage in
1994 and went strictly day care until Christian Childcare took over
in 2003.
There were other groups in the building between 1994 and 2003. For
instance, CIEDC used the building for a couple of years between when
the Oddfellows discontinued offering daycare and Christian Childcare
took over.
Richards said, “The lodge in Lincoln is always looking for members
who enjoy volunteering raising money for different charities and
also helping their community.”
Christian Child Care, Inc. (CCC) has been serving Logan County since
1989.
CCC Director Liberty Canady (stretched out on front
left) said, “We were founded through a vision from five local
Christian organization’s leadership which deemed quality child care
a high need in Logan County. These organizations were Lincoln
Christian College and Seminary (now Lincoln Christian University),
Christian Homes, Inc., The Christian Village, Lincoln Christian
Church, and Jefferson Street Christian Church. CCC began in the
basement of Lincoln Christian Church with 19 children and a handful
of staff.”
In 2003, CCC moved to its current location, 721 Wyatt Ave. Canady
said, “Today, CCC cares for 107 children and employs 30 staff. We
provide Christ-centered quality care for children from ages six
weeks through 12 years of age, year-round.”
Christian Child Care, Inc. is nationally accredited through the
National Accreditation Commission. CCC strives to provide a solid
social and emotional foundation, while providing high quality care
for children. Canady said, “We also provide developmentally
appropriate educational experiences to help foster a child's
spiritual and cognitive development by following an age-appropriate,
early childhood research-based curriculum for daily activities
called, The Creative Curriculum.”
These high-quality experiences and daily care routines have also
earned CCC the highest level of quality, a ‘Gold Circle of Quality’
designee through the Illinois ExceleRate program. This program
recognizes that the care and experiences our center provides is an
environment where children thrive.
Partnership with various organizations help the day care thrive.
Canady said the Odd Fellows take great care of their property, which
helps us use our money better.
Partnerships with CAPCIL Early Head Start and Foster Grandparent
Program also benefit CCC.
Community support is another valuable resource and it includes
volunteer mystery readers, community members who donate items,
support from local churches, mission projects, space, and prayers.
A celebration to mark years of service to the community
On the day of the celebration, there were around two hundred people
that came for a day of food, fun and entertainment.
Among those attending the celebration were Harold and
David Crowe, two brothers who lived at the Odd Fellows Orphanage
between 1963 and 1975.
Many Odd Fellows members came from all around the
state and one even came all the way from Wisconsin.
Odd Fellows Board member Bonnie Hensley said the
event was very nice and it was interesting to see how the building
and other things have changed.
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Cathy Huerd once worked as an employee of the Odd
Fellows Daycare and is now the President of the Board at Christian
Child Care. Huerd said she loves working with children and enjoyed
the celebration.
Former CCC employee Kirstin Bunting said it was great to see
everyone and support such a great organization that has had such a
huge impact on my life.
As the day’s activities began, a pork chop sandwich meal was served.
Attendees could also take tours of both the International Order of
Odd Fellows Museum and Christian Child Care to learn more about
history of the places celebrating anniversaries.
In the Odd Fellows Museum were many artifacts and following) from
over the years. Lincoln is the headquarters for Odd Fellows, though
it used to be in Springfield. Odd Fellows member Matt Diefenbach
said the first Odd Fellows Lodge in Illinois was the Alton Western
Star Lodge chartered in 1836.
Entertainment included music by the Kickapoo Creek Band (4661) of
Heyworth and the Daughters of the King Dance Team (labelled DOTK)
from Open Arms Christian Fellowship.
Members of the First Presbyterian Church did a read aloud of the
story of Pinnochio in the afternoon. The church also has a mobile
library and children at CCC can check out a book from it each week.
For kids, there were bouncy houses, face painting, balloon art, and
CATCH program activities like a ring toss, hula hoops, a bean bag
toss and the ALMH spin art stationary bike.
When activities had wound down, everyone quickly worked together to
clean up.
Canady said it was wonderful watching the Odd Fellows and CCC
collaborate to celebrate the children and the community.
[Angela Reiners] |
