NotFatherless was founded by me, Clay Huston (the guy in the middle).

I met two of our three Partnered Children’s Homes (Casa Melody’s and Casa Corazon Grande) while on a mission trip to Reynosa, Mexico, in 2017.

While there, we took a break from the planned mission and visited their homes.

After seeing their deep faith, incredible perseverance, and love for the kids in their care, the idea for NotFatherless came to me in an instant; like a light was switched on. My only explanation is that God gave me the idea. I rushed home to farm-town Illinois and began forming NotFatherless. 

I met our third Partnered Home (Casa Vidas Rendidas) through a family friend in the same year. I was told they had just started their ministry and were trying to raise support.

I met with the directors (Renay and Guillermo) over lunch in Fort Madison, Iowa, where I realized they’re a perfect fit for NotFatherless.

I’ve worked with these 3 children’s homes ever since and have raised over $50,000 in support of their ministries.

Christ-centered means the Christian faith is at the core of everything they do. Faith and obedience are the reasons each of our Partnered Children’s Homes were started in the first place.

I met 2 of our 3 Partnered Children’s Homes (Big Heart and Melody’s) on a mission trip to Reynosa, Mexico, in 2017. I used to go on mission trips to Mexico almost every Christmas break with my hometown church in Illinois.

While there, we would sometimes take a break from the planned mission and visit local missionaries. That’s how I crossed paths with Big Heart and Melody’s Children’s Homes.

I met Our Surrendered Lives Children’s Home through a family friend in 2017. I was told they had just started their ministry and were trying to raise support. I met with the directors (Renay and Guillermo) over lunch in Fort Madison, Iowa, where I realized they’re a perfect fit for NotFatherless.

The basic partnership criteria are:

1. Are they trustworthy?
2. Are they Christ-centered?
3. Are they in need?

Christ-centered is a very important factor. We believe sharing a common faith magnifies the trust factor and helps make sure our goals are aligned.

Determining need is the easy part. Every children’s home NotFatherless supports is run by people we know on a personal level. We have met the house-parents of all 3 of our Partnered Children’s Homes face to face and we communicate with them on a regular basis, and their need for support is obvious.

Our Partnered Homes are what Mexico calls residential care.

Under the Mexican system, “residential care” can mean an unincorporated foster family takes them, in or a non-profit type organization. It basically means someone besides a biological family member or a government run orphanage is caring for the child.

The homes we work with are nonprofits but we compare them to US foster homes because on a day-to-day basis they function like a big family.

Adoption happens but it’s rare.

Most of the kids in the homes we support still have biologically family who have rights, but have voluntarily placed the child in the home for whatever reason, usually because they can’t afford to care for them.

But in other cases they’ve been taken from their biological family due to abuse or neglect. And there are some kids who’ve sadly lost their family. In these cases, adoption is possible.

Length of stay varies widely. Some kids will live with the home from a young age until they’re 18 or older. Other times, parents take their child back after a year or two.