History and Heritage of Natchez Children’s Services

Our service to children began with a group of women realizing that there were boys and girls in Natchez who did not have food, housing or education.   In 1816 this group of Natchez women came together to start what would become the oldest continuously operating non-profit organization in Mississippi.

Those seeds of charity and concern grew through the years with the descendants of the founders supporting the work of providing for children in need, by creating a home which gave education and loving care to orphans and foster children.

The stories of this labor of love are documented in the history archives at the University of Texas at Austin and will be highlighted in our own history and archives space at 806 N. Union Street in 2020.

Today our Founders and Foundlings Circle supports archiving the history of the children who lived at our home through fundraising and sponsoring the Alumni program for adults who once lived at the home.

Over the past 200 years, the community on both sides of the Mississippi has helped our children though sponsorships, gifts, donations and volunteer efforts.   We are so very thankful for their continued love and support.

The laws and foster care practices across the county have changed and foster children and orphans who once might have lived in our home built for forty, are now cared for by foster parents in individual homes.    Natchez Children’s Services continues to provide valuable service to children through their Children’s Advocacy Center which serves five local counties.