Lily Pad #20: May 2024
Department of Social Services
Barnwell County, SC
Barnwell County is in the Midlands Region of South Carolina. It is located south of Aiken County and partially borders Georgia.
It is a small community with a big heart to care for kids experiencing foster care.
The space they had available was a small, windowless room that was being used for storage and in desperate need of new flooring and fresh paint on the walls.
We mixed in some new pieces like a love seat with a sofa bed and roll away bed with some staples like a glider, rug and cube shelf.
The director and staff in the Barnwell office were thrilled with the result and so warm and welcoming. They sent us home with a piece of Barnwell as a token of their appreciation.
"It's just the right thing to do and this is what these kids deserve." Michael Leach, SC State Director.
The love seat folds out into a full size bed to provide respite for kids coming into the office at all hours of the day and night.
The entertainment center provides an opportunity for kids to temporarily be distracted from their circumstances. It's equipped with a DVD player, DVDs, Nintendo Switch and games.
Weighted blankets are available to calm anxious nervous systems.
This love folds out into a full size bed.
It just wouldn't be the same without a Lily Pad sucker jar.
The sofa has durable corduroy fabric and homey touches like throw pillows and blankets.
A glider provides sensory support and can be a calming influence that allows kids to retain information they receive about their next steps. The cube shelf is stocked with toys for kids of all ages!
We included soft lighting and a roll away bed that can be brought into the Lily Pad as needed. We hope kids that use the space will believe these words displayed for them to see.
Books, Bibles, and art supplies are ready to be used to help entertain kids as they spend time in the office.
What a difference fresh paint makes!
The members of Foothill's Piecemakers Quilt guild have made rocking chair quilts for our upcoming Lily Pad spaces.
It doesn't seem possible this room used to be a dark storage space. Now it's fully equipped to help reduce trauma for youth in foster care!
“They [youth in foster care] want to feel like they are at home…even the parents, I can tell its going to be a difference for the parents.”
Charlene Nimmons, Director
upon seeing the new visitation room