Belive In Grace Resource

Who We Are

Changing Lives by believing in grace.
Believe In Grace is a non-profit company that will focus on becoming the middleman in connecting people in need with community resources.
- B.I.G Resource is here to connect people with their community resources to achieve a better outcome for their life.
- We are here to assist people in the community to complete paperwork ex. SNAP,WIC,Job application, paperwork for rentals and other tasks.
- We are here to bring resources to young adults that have aged out of the foster care system by continue to need support.
- We are here to assist with light housework and yard work to the disable and physically impared.
Director Gamel Mcghee
I am a native of Franklin County all my life. I have been a therapeutic foster parent for 23 years and have been in the mental health field for 21 years. I have seen the break down where one service must stop and how the people do not know how to connect to another service they may need. I want to be able to connect the two together to make people successful with opportunities they need to enhance their lives.
Our Mission
Believe in Grace Resources, Inc. wants to help individuals and families by creating real change in our community. We will accomplish this by bridging the gap between the people we help and our local resources. We also want to help the youth who are aging out of foster care to grow individually and be able to impact our community with a healthy support system so that they may one day be able to self-advocate. We want to empower families with the proper support and access to resources to be able to create stable home for their children. We want the elderly to know we are here to serve them with services they need in our community. We are here ultimately to increase awareness of available resources to that our clients can overcome hardship and live fulfilling lives.

Believe in Grace Resource (BIG)

A little story about my goal and mission for Believe in Grace Resource, also known as BIG. I
have always been surrounded by a big family of my own, some biological and others adopted,
so, I have witnessed first hand the importance of family and unity. To this date, I have fostered
approximately 200 children. This has not always been easy, however I have always been
committed to each one of their fragile situations/lifestyle experiences. Through the years, the
behaviors and multiple experiences have not been easy to manage, however I refused to give
up on any of them. Actually I have made the choice to adopt many of the kids I have fostered.
Many of these foster children would disrespect, misbehave, demonstrate defiance etc.
Although this was not easy, I continued my mission. I am a single foster parent with support
that would always encourage and welcome biological families. Each child/sibling group I have
fostered comes with unique circumstances which requires a lot of understanding and
commitment to be open-minded. For example, one of of my adopted sons had already been
adopted before he turned 4 years old. Sadly the adoptive mother passed away when he was 11
years old and he was placed in foster care. He was not from Virginia and had no contact with his
bio;ogical family. We reached over the years to make contact and to provide as much support
as possible as this was a huge loss. Once he turned 18, this past year, we assisted and
encouraged him to locate his siblings that were living out of state. After much hesitation, he did
so and know feels like he has his “whole village.” That’s one of many rewarding success stories.
Through BIG, it is my mission to connect foster and adopted children to their biological families.

How To Become A Foster Parent

Talk with your family about becoming a foster parent "it takes a village".
Contact your local department of social services or a foster care agency.
Get Certified- Training, Paperwork, & Preparation

While the certification process varies from state to state and even agency to agency you should expect to follow the elements:

Application
Training (usually 30 or more hours)
How to partner with a child's biological family
Background Checks
Home Study

There are many local agencies.

Thinking About Fostering?

SM's Story

Here's my story, growing up I didn't have much. My family & I struggled a lot. We stayed in a one bedroom apartment & there were 9 of us. My dad was never around he was abusive and an alcoholic. My mom was always there for me. She took care of me and my 8 other siblings. She struggled but, she never gave up. Once I turned 7 she said she didn't want to see me and my siblings struggle anymore. My mother ended up calling DSS and asked them to take us and put us in a safe home until she got back on her feet. She never gave up on us she tried so hard to get us back but, she just couldn't. I went to foster home to foster home and different schools for 6 years. Each home I never lasted a long time in. I was bullied and abused my whole life until I met my adopted mom. I came to her at the age of 13. Even though I was terrible and hardheaded she never gave up on me. She stayed with me and helped me through my struggles and trauma. She adopted me literally a year later and she became my bestfriend. I really love and appreciate her. She always manages to plan visits so I can still keep in contact with my biological family no matter how far they were. She bought me clothes, shoes, and gave me everything I needed. Still to this day she still supports me. I've been with her for 6 years now and I could never see myself with anyone else she is truly is a blessing. Just a little side note my adopted grandma adopted my brother so now we see each other everyday and I thank her also for helping and keeping us together. She's my bestfriend too.

“D's” story

Another foster care success story!

“D” came to me when he was only 3 years old. It was him and his 3 siblings. At a very young
age, D was diagnosed with autism after having difficulty with his speech and verbal expressions.
D has continued to have difficulty with verbalizing himself and communicating with others.
However, that never stopped him from pursuing work ethic and goals. I supported him through
these struggles, as well as enhancements. He participated in the local Goodwill summer
programs and DARS, (Department of Rehabilitative Services), programs for job coaching and
opportunities that accommodated his learning disability. D began working part time at a local
retail stocking store, where he continued there for 4 years. When (BIG), Believe in Grace),
opened in 2022, we helped him gain a full time position at another local department store. He
was able to save his money and understand the importance of hard work and money
management skills. He demonstrated an understanding and knowledge of preparing for his
future. During this time, D took advantage of visiting a Job Corp site that he is interested in
pursuing when he turns 21. Just recently, D was assisted with a coach from BIG, and was able
to purchase his first car on his own. We are so proud of D for overcoming his everyday life
struggles, adapting to foster care and his learning disabilities. D is a prime example of childhood
success. Through a magnitude of agencies all working collectively to provide opportunities for
children in the foster care system, this is also helping wall of these stories that we can now tell
is years of work with foster and to shape our future for these foster/adopted children in our
very own small community. Us here at BIG, are so thankful to be able to assist and guide foster
care children even after they age out of the system. We could not do this without collaboration
and support from the other much needed agencies listed above.

Volunteers Needed

Come Volunteer your time or services to someone in the community that is in need. We can connect you to that person.

Ask About Our Thrift Store

Our Thrift store has $1 items and other items at a very low price. Any foster child can get 10 pieces free. We do except donations. The thrift store is located at our office.

Have A Donation?