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Rooted in Love, Guided by Faith.
Our mission is simple yet profound: to offer a home that reflects the love and care of God for every child who walks through our doors. Many children come to us from brokenness, neglect, or trauma, but we believe that through love, understanding, and the nurturing of their hearts, they can find restoration and purpose.
Through our faith-driven approach, we work to instill hope, confidence, and self-worth in every child, ensuring they know they are deeply loved—by us and by their Creator.
A Safe and Nurturing Environment
A Loving Home: We provide a safe, structured, and warm environment where children can grow, feel secure, and develop lifelong confidence.
Guidance & Mentorship: Our staff and volunteers are dedicated to walking alongside each child, offering them guidance and mentorship shaped by Christian values.
Spiritual Growth: We believe in the power of faith, and we encourage children to explore and deepen their personal relationship with God through prayer, worship, and Bible study.
Emotional & Physical Care: Each child receives individualized care, including counseling, educational support, and physical well-being. We ensure that all their needs—emotional, spiritual, and physical—are met with love and respect.
Luke graduated from the University of Alabama in 2008 with a bachelors degree in Civil Engineering. He served as Fayette County Engineer before forming a new engineering firm - LP Engineering - which soon formed into Porter-Higginbotham Engineering (PHE). PHE has offices in Fayette and Tuscaloosa and they proudly serve areas all over North and West Alabama. Luke’s dedication to helping others is evident through the many hours he spends serving, whether it be speaking at events, leading devotionals, organizing fundraisers or simply being a listening ear. Luke proudly serves on the Better Together Advisory Board and coaches little league soccer with his children. You may have seen him at soccer games, he’s the coach that takes it a little too seriously! Luke and his wife, Amanda, have been married for ten years and have three children. They live in Fayette and are members of Central Church where Luke serves as a deacon and speaks occasionally.
Amanda graduated from the University of Alabama in 2011 with a BA and MS in criminal justice. During this time she developed a passion for studying the correlation between juvenile dependency, juvenile delinquency, and adult crime - and how to prevent one by better handling the other. While at Thomas Goode Jones School of Law Amanda advocated for domestic violence victims and their children. She earned a JD in 2013 and opened her solo law practice in Fayette immediately after being admitted into the Alabama State Bar. She now works with the 24th Judicial Circuit Public Defender’s Office. Focusing on criminal defense and juvenile work for the first decade of her career rekindled her passion for preventing adult crime by better caring for children in need. She and her husband, Luke, have been licensed foster parents since 2017 and were blessed with the gift of adopting their twins, Andrew and Addie. Their family grew again in 2019 with the birth of their third child, Lizbeth. They are members of Central Church in Fayette. Amanda’s years of experience in juvenile court paired with her first hand knowledge of the foster care system will be valuable at Magnolia Ranch as we strive to provide children with peaceful homes that are rooted in God’s love.
Rick is a Certified Public Accountant and is the managing partner of McCabe and Asssociates which he established in 1994. A significant portion of Rick’s practice involves financial statement audits and financial consulting roles for many non-profit and governmental organizations throughout West Alabama. Rick has served as the City Auditor for the City of Fayette for 24 years and has a deep love for the Fayette community, workingand participating with many charitable organizations. Rick has been a member of the Central Church since 1995, serving as an Elder since 2017. Rick has taught the men’s fireside class at Central for several years, focusing on developing men into strong husbands, fathers and spiritual leaders within the Church and in our community. Rick also cherishes the youth of our community and actively encourages them in sports , civic leadership and spiritual development. He regularly opens his home and office to support children of all ages. Rick is also a strong advocate for the first responders and mental health agencies of Fayette Country and the surrounding areas. Rick is married to Daphne Kimbrell McCabe. They have three sons. Fuller and his wife, Amy, live in Tuscaloosa. Conner lives in Birmingham with his wife Hannah. Their youngest son, Cole, lives in Birmingham. They have five grandchildren, Ryan, Wes, Shelby, Callaway and Saylor Ray.
Kerry Kerr graduated from the University of Alabama in 1980 and has been a Financial Advisor with Edward Jones for the past 20 years. Kerry lives in Fayette and has been married to Donna Matthew’s Kerr for 48 years. Kerry and Donna have one son, Matthew. Kerry is a member and teacher at Calvary Baptist Church in Fayette. His passion is people and he loves investing into their lives.
Myra graduated from the University of Alabama in 2003 with a Bachelors in social work and immediately began working at the Department of Human Resources as a social worker. In 2017 she was promoted to supervisor. With over 20 years experience as a social worker, Myra has worked tirelessly to influence the lives of families and children to ensure safety, permanency, and wellbeing. She extends her role by devoting time to train and maintain foster parents in her community. Her support, guidance, and patience has given many the strength to push through extremely trying moments, striving to ensure that there are loving homes when children need them. Myra’s passion is adoption and giving children forever families. Myra is devoted to her community. She is a member of Progress Club II and serves on the Fayette Civic Center Board and the Fayette Medical Center Foundation Board. She is a member of Southside Baptist Church. She is married to Greg Rainey and together they have five children and three grandchildren. Myra has a special place in her heart for advocating for those who cannot speak for themselves, a passion that is at the core of Magnolia’s mission.
August graduated from The University of Alabama in 2001 with a B. S. in Psychology and a Music Therapy Equivalency. As a Board-Certified Music Therapist she owned and operated Music Can, LLC from 2001-2011 which provided music therapy services to local preschools and assisted living facilities in Tuscaloosa. She has served as Children’s Minister at Fayette First Methodist Church since 2013 and continues to provide music services to preschools throughout Fayette County. In 2020, she formed Better Together Fayette, a non-profit organization focused on combining the resources of local churches to provide ministry events designed to share the love of Christ with children in the City of Fayette. She has been married to Sam Junkin for 25 years and they have one daughter, Laura, who is a freshman at the University of Alabama.