Event Recap: Celebrating 100 Years

Children’s Aid Society kicked off our Centennial celebration with a fantastic event honoring Will Gaines Holmes, one of our past Executive Directors! The event, held at Park Lane in English Village, was a wonderful way to honor Mrs. Holmes, who celebrated her 100^th birthday the same week. 

Mrs. Holmes has touched so many people in our community through her dedication to helping others. It is evident how much she means to so many people by the number who attended our event. We had almost 200 of her most loyal fans and supporters help her celebrate this momentous milestone! 

 

Nancy Kane, President of the CAS Board, welcomed everyone to the event. Some of CAS’s founders' children and grandchildren were able to attend the event. Nancy was able to honor them and acknowledge our past by calling their loved ones names. 

Gayle Watts, our current Executive Director, spoke about the history of Children’s Aid, Mrs. Holmes and the wonderful things each has done to transform the community.

 

We presented Mrs. Holmes with a beautiful cake flanked with 100 candles! It was quite a sight! We also premiered a video of Mrs. Holmes reflecting on her love for Children’s Aid Society and her biggest dreams for the Agency. 

Alice Williams, CAS Foundation Board member, wrapped up the event with a milestone announcement for Children’s Aid: We're buying a building! Mrs. Holmes said one of her biggest dreams for the agency would be to have our own home. Alice explained that Children’s Aid has always provided homes for people in need over the years, without having a true home itself. 

We also announced we are kicking off a capital campaign for our new building. The building, after all of the expenses of buying, renovation, furnishing and other unforeseen costs, will be a $2 million endeavor. As Alice said, “we are embarking on a journey that is very new for us. It will end well, but we will need and will be asking for a lot of help.” 

We would like the privilege of coming to visit you in the near future to explore how you can help make our homecoming a reality. If you are interested in being a part of the future of Children’s Aid, please contact Gayle Watts at gwatts@childrensaid.org. 

We thank everyone who came for helping us celebrate 100 years of Will Holmes and Children’s Aid! 

Here’s to 100 more!

To see more pictures from this 100th Celebration Event, visit our Facebook album!