The Lighthouse Children's Home has been operating for over 30 years and is a full-time Christian residential facility for teenage girls.  The minimum required stay of the program is 12 to 16 months.  The girls stay on property and are supervised 24 hours a day.  By following the program, the girls can earn home passes and campus visits by family.  Each girl is allowed a monthly phone call from home. 

Since this is a self-help program, for any girl to be accepted into the program, they must have 100% cooperation of the parents/guardians and the girl must be willing to commit to the program requirements.  In other words, they cannot force a girl to receive help if she does not want to be helped.

Carolyn Beach and Kathy Cox with some of the girls.

There are four main elements to the Lighthouse Children's Home Program:

1.      Spiritual - As a Christian home, this is their primary emphasis.  The Lord alone is the great changer of hearts, lives, and attitudes. The girls attend church a minimum of three times a week as well as chapel services in the school.  The girls start and end each day with a time of Bible reading and prayer and they are required to memorize a number of Scriptures every month.  All of the counseling for the girls is done from a pastoral and spiritual perspective. 

2.      Scholastic – The girls attend school on campus.  The school uses the A.C.E. (Accelerated Christian Education) program.  The school is also accredited by the National Association for Christian Education, and has been given Model Status by A.C.E.  Many of the girls graduate from the Lighthouse and go on to college where the Lighthouse continues with financial, spiritual, and emotional support.     

3.      Sports – They offer basketball and sometimes volleyball.   They also have an in-ground heated swimming pool for the girls. 

4.      Singing – The girls travel and sing frequently throughout Florida, Georgia, and Alabama.  Throughout the years the Lighthouse has completed several Gospel music recordings.  There are currently nine (9) recordings available on CD and tape.   A new Gospel music recording is usually completed each year.

They have a basic operating philosophy of Responsibility and Accountability. 

Responsibility - All girls are required to go to school, do daily chores, read and memorize Scriptures, and respect and obey authority.

Accountability - Disobedience to rules and bad attitudes result in the loss of privileges. Everything the Lighthouse offers to girls is regarded as a privilege that can be earned and lost.

Girls that respond well to their program also have opportunities to visit area restaurants, malls, amusement parks, etc. – all supervised. 

How can you be of assistance?  The Lighthouse operates on faith alone.  Their funding is by donations only.  Another way is to become involved in the Adopt-A-Teen Program.  This is a program where individuals or groups (Life Groups, Sunday school classes, etc.) can sign-up for an Adopt-A-Teen.  You can support the Lighthouse for $20.00 per month in the name of one of the girls.  You may pay monthly or give a once a year donation.  The Lighthouse will assign the girls to the sponsors.  The sponsored girl will correspond with her sponsor and the sponsor can arrange to visit the girl at the Lighthouse.  The sponsor will also receive a biography and picture of the girl. 

For more information about their program, please contact the Lighthouse at (850) 877-3778.  To learn more about how you can be involved with the Lighthouse as a Wildwood member, contact Kathy Cox at (850) 222-5506 or Carolyn Beach at (850) 894-8482.