65 Years of Caring for Children

St. Mary’s Home opened on Dec. 8, 1944, as a home for young children with no homes of their own or who needed a temporary place to stay while their mothers were at work at war plants and their fathers were serving their country. Sisters of the Daughters of Wisdom arrived in March 1946 to supervise the Home. St. Mary’s mission expanded through the years and by the 1980s the Home had evolved into a private, nonprofit, nonsectarian organization.

Please join us as we celebrate 65 years of comfort and caring with a special event:

Wednesday, March 24, 2010

Reception 5:30 p.m.
Dinner 6:30 p.m.

Norfolk Waterside Marriott
235 E. Main Street
First Floor

Keynote speaker Fern Kupfer, who advocates choices for people with disabilities, will share her experience with her son, as captured in her poignant memoir “Before and After Zachariah.”
Book signing to follow.

$35 per person; $65 anniversary special when reserving for two; $350 for a table of 10.

RSVP by March 10 to Mary Helen Hilton at (757) 446-6793 or mhilton@smhdc.org. Or, register online.

Presenting Sponsor

The world was at war when a downtown Norfolk building that already had served children for more than a century as a school for girls was re-dedicated on Dec. 8, 1944, for a  new purpose. “St. Mary’s Infant Home will provide shelter for the little boys and girls who cannot find it elsewhere,” Bishop Peter I. Ireton, co-adjutor bishop of Richmond, said during the ceremony, according to news accounts.

At first, St. Mary’s was a home for young children with no homes of their own or who needed a temporary place to stay while their mothers were at work at war plants. Over the years, the Home evolved into a home for children and young adults with severe disabilities, changing its name and moving into a new facility in the 1960s and then into its current, state-of-the-art building in 2005.

Starting in December 2009 and continuing throughout 2010, St. Mary’s Home will be celebrating its 65^th anniversary in a number of ways, including vintage-themed holiday decorations, displays of historical items, billboard advertisements in the Norfolk area and an anniversary dinner on March 24, 2010. Be sure to keep checking our website and our newsletter, Guardian, for details – and thank you for supporting the children and young adults who call St. Mary’s “home.”