Fort Mitchell residents can mark their calendars for the DCCH Center 175th Anniversary Lasting Legacies Festival on Sept. 30. There will be live music, food trucks, inflatables, and games. The festival, like DCCH’s work, will be family-oriented.
DCCH, which stands for Diocesan Catholic Children’s Home, works to give local children and families the resources they need to be safe, independent, and cared for. The facility has employed treatments such as equine therapy, crisis stabilization, and mental health services.
The organization started in 1848 as the St. John’s Orphan Society and met to discuss establishing a Catholic orphanage in Kenton County. In just two decades, they were able to purchase land and a building. By 1871, the orphanage was up and running, giving nine girls a safe roof over their heads.
Since then, they opened the orphanage to boys and girls and housed, fed, and schooled many children. The organization persevered through multiple fires, changes in leadership, and several funding models.
In 1999, they launched a therapeutic foster care program, and in 2002, they became a state-licensed adoption agency.
Bob Wilson, DCCH executive director, credits the organization’s success to its supporters.
“I am filled with gratitude for all the many people who have helped keep the DCCH mission moving along,” Wilson wrote in a recent report. “From our dedicated staff and board members to our generous volunteers and donors, you have provided the support and encouragement to offer hope and healing to some of our state’s most vulnerable children and families.”
The upcoming Sept. 30 festival on DCCH grounds celebrates this legacy of support and compassion. Any interested community members can help them out on that day by volunteering with them. Anyone interested can reach out to Vicki Boerger, Volunteer Coordinator, at [email protected].