Hopefully, the Rotary Red Hot Chili Cookoff whet your appetite for more outdoor gatherings with a foodie flair! Get fired up for Grilling in the Golden Isles, a sizzling new culinary contest and fundraiser for MorningStar Children & Family Services. This smokin’ hot event scheduled for Saturday, March 15 at Gascoigne Bluff Park on St. Simons Island will showcase grill masters and amateur cooks alike grilling up an array of mouthwatering delights for all to enjoy. It will be a fun-filled family day with food, flames, entertainment, and grilling for a good cause.
The organizers of this event are busy getting teams on board and finalizing details for this inaugural event that benefits the important mission of MorningStar to provide essential support and resources to Georgia’s foster children. While things are still fluid, here are some things you can expect during the day under the oaks at Gascoigne Bluff. Things will kick off at 11:00 a.m. and festivities will commence with a ceremonial lighting of the grills. Representatives from Hootenanny’s BBQ and Halyards Restaurant Group will be on hand as judges—and might just be appearing in some other supporting areas as well. You know they’re experts on deliciousness!
There will be live cooking demonstrations by local restaurants and chefs to help inspire you to fire up your grill and try some new tricks at home. Adding to the fun will be a Kids Zone with face painting, bounce houses, gaga pit, and more. Vampire Penguin will be on site serving up their scrumptious shaved snow desserts and other food trucks are planned as well. If that’s not enough, there will also be live music by Midnight Holler and The Gowen Family Band, so it’s sure to be a good time! Supporters of the event include PB2 Foods, Southeastern Bank, Killian and Turner, IAP, Coastal Hibachi, PrimeSouth Bank, and more. We’re excited to see what the Coastal Hibachi team cooks up in the competition!
Speaking of cooking teams, it doesn’t matter whether you’re a backyard BBQ guru or a seasoned chef, you can register a team to show off YOUR skills on the grill. To participate in cooking contest with a Backyard Grilling Team (6 individuals per team), entry fee is $500. If you have a restaurant or business, go bigger! King of the Grill, Pitmaster, and Whole Hog Sponsorship packages are available that include entry of complimentary cook teams for the event (6 individuals per team) as well as tickets and onsite display space. What a great opportunity to get your business or organization noticed while supporting a worthy cause!
Whether you choose to join the fun that comes with competing in a cooking competition and getting recognition for your culinary talents or just plan to come as an eager taster, everyone is invited to enjoy this community event from 11:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. on March 15 in the beautiful riverside setting of Gascoigne Park. Tickets are $25 for an individual and $45 per couple. Kids under 12 will be admitted free of charge and have full access to the Kid Zone activities. Purchase online at morningstarcfs.org.
More About What You’ll Be Supporting
Morningstar Children’s Home, the residential care program of Morningstar Children and Family Services, specializes in caring for Georgia’s foster children, ages 12-21, who have come into care due to abuse, neglect, and abandonment. They currently serve all boys. Accepting children from across the state, the coastal campus is the only residential program in Georgia which solely serves developmentally delayed youth, many with autism and complex care needs.
In addition to providing home for the children, their mission is to help create brighter futures for each through therapeutic counseling, life skill training, and workforce coaching. Additionally, the Morningstar team works to assure each child continues educational studies toward a high school diploma, coordinates needed medical services and provides a host of ongoing recreation opportunities and special holiday activities, all to create good mental and physical health, as well as positive childhood memories.
Children live on the Brunswick campus for varying lengths of time, averaging 2-3 years. Each resident works on a plan toward reunification with parents, if such is possible, acceptance into a foster or kinship home, or acceptance into a more independent or specialized group program. Success looks different for each youth, based on their family dynamics and physical/mental abilities. Morningstar’s goal is to help them move forward by helping them heal from trauma, as well as learn life and work skills, setting them up for success as they grow toward adulthood.
Once the site of a Georgia state park, the 350-acre property that now houses Morningstar Children’s Home was given to Ardell Nation for the creation of Boys Estate, an orphanage for boys during WWII. The three living cottages, as well as support buildings such as school, gym, cafeteria, and chapel were all constructed between 1945-1965, and sit within a 25-acre footprint. While the buildings have served the children well for many years, each needs major renovation to improve safety and enhance program function.
Current Projects: Over the last few years, the campus has seen much renovation of living, kitchen, and gym areas. Currently, with support from a legacy gift, the second of three cottages is being fully renovated, with new private rooms provided to better serve the needs of the boys who call our campus home.
Dream Projects: These are the projects that can be accomplish with funds raised through your support. Designs have been drawn and costs secured for several projects which will continue to create home and healing spaces on the campus, these include:
• Renovation of Cottage #3 – The renovation of the campus’ final living cottage will improve the functionality and homelike décor, reopening living space for up to fifteen foster children.
• Creation of a Wellness Clinic – The expansion of the current Medical Clinic to add an infirmary and overnight care space for boys who are ill will assist Morningstar in providing stronger health services and prevent the spread of illness on campus.
• Creation of a Children’s Service Center – There is a plan to repurpose a building that once functioned as part of the campus school and was built in the 1950s, originally as a US Post Office. The building will house Residential leadership and the caseworkers responsible for meeting the complex needs of the residents, as well as a space for training.
• Cafeteria expansion – Replacement of windows is needed and an outdoor patio addition is planned.
• Cottage playgrounds – Designs are ready for each cottage to have a connected outdoor play space, with fencing to ensure safety.
When Morningstar CEO Beth VanDerbeck explains these needs, she quotes author Barbara Brown Taylor, speaking about the importance of the look and feel of the spaces where we live and work: “When people walk into a place that has been carefully prepared, they are more likely to surrender themselves to it, trusting that whoever cared so much for the room might also care for them.” She expresses her appreciation for our community’s care for the foster boys they serve through gifts given to help Morningstar carefully prepare and improve the campus spaces.
With your support, Morningstar can make more successes like the ones they celebrated in 2024:
• Morningstar provided home and healing for 48 special need foster boys.
• 15 boys reunified with family or moved forward to a foster home or next level support program.
• As part of the first Morningstar Gives Back Week, held in July, the staff and boys shared 100 hours of service with five local charities. Throughout the year, youth participate in regular volunteer events throughout the community.
• In collaboration with Cornell University, Morningstar staff began the implementation of a four-year program model called CARE (Children and Residential Experiences): Creating Conditions for Change. The goal of the implementation of the CARE principles is to achieve congruence in the best interests of youth Morningstar serves throughout all levels of the organization. Morningstar is committed to CARE as the foundation for providing exceptional support to every child, ensuring their well-being and fostering their growth and development.
For more information about Morningstar’s services and to keep track of their projects and successes, visit morningstarcfs.org.
