UMCOR Sager-Brown past, present, told at Rotary

Franklin Rotary Club welcomed Ricky Chauvin from United Methodist Committee on Relief Sager-Brown, to speak Tuesday at their weekly meeting at the Forest Restaurant in Franklin.
Chauvin was the guest of Dr. Steven McPherson, and began his address with a history of UMCOR Sager-Brown, a non-profit charitable organization.
In 1867, the Byrne Sugar Plantation was purchased in Baldwin for $13,000 for the purpose of housing orphaned African-American children after the Civil War.
In 1869, the orphanage and still operational sugar-plantation blew up, signaling the evident end of the charitable endeavor. But, in 1875, the orphanage was reimagined under the auspices of the Mississippi Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church.
Reverend Dr. William D. Godman transformed “The Orphan's Home” into an elite liberal arts school for African-American children, and gathered together a school choir called the Jubilee Singers, with whom he toured the northern U.S.
While on tour, the choir caught the ears and imaginations of Mrs. Addie Sager and Mrs. C.W.M. Brown, who purchased the Godman School in 1921 for the predecessors to the United Methodist’s Women’s Division, and moved the school/orphanage to New Orleans.
The school/orphanage was then known as the Sager Brown Orphanage and Godman School and it remained open until 1978, when it was forced to close due to financial hardships.
In 1992, Hurricane Andrew devastated southern Louisiana. Through UMCOR, the United Methodist Church began to collect emergency relief for the area, and they bought the vacant Sager-Brown school to use as their coordination center. Thus, UMCOR Sager-Brown came to be.
They work with volunteers to bring relief to those in need—worldwide. This relief comes in the forms of care packages, supply kits, outreach efforts and projects offering aid. They can be found working as close as the local community, or as far away as the Sudan and Liberia, where their relief kits provide school supplies for children in need.
As for future events, UMCOR Sager-Brown in Baldwin will offer a Mission Camp for youth only, the weeks of April 1, June 17, 24, and July 8 and 15 of next year.
Chauvin closed his remarks to the Rotary by saying that UMCOR Sager-Brown will be celebrating their 150th birthday Oct. 21, at the Baldwin campus, and they invite any who wish to attend, to come celebrate. A meal will be shared, and there will be games and festivities.
Interested in volunteering? Contact UMCOR Sager-Brown at 337-923-6238, or Amy Fuselier, Director of UMCOR Sager-Brown and Depot West at: AFuselier@umcor.org.