Frequently Asked Questions
Donations
Online giving provides convenience and ease of use. To protect our donor’s information, we take data security very seriously. For both ease of access and superior data security, we use a third-party company for online giving, Ministrylinq. MinistryLinq provides rigorous electronic and personal security measures to protect your data. All information you provide on their site is encrypted. If you choose to make your donation recurring, it is securely stored in their database.
For further questions you might have concerning your online giving, please give us a call: 505-898-5520
Donors who wish to give online are emailed an automatic receipt that can be downloaded instantly. For all other donations made in person or mailed to ACCH, our office will generate a receipt for your records, which can be emailed to you or delivered through US Postal Service for your records. For all donors – whether donations were made online, in person, or by mail – ACCH provides a Year End statement of donations made to ACCH. This letter is mailed to the donor’s address that they have provided, or emailed to those who wish to be email only.
Albuquerque Christian Children’s Home (ACCH) is registered as a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. Therefore, all donations made to ACCH are tax-deductible. For all donors – whether donations were made online, in person, or by mail – ACCH provides a Year End statement of donations made to ACCH. This letter is mailed to the donor’s address that they have provided, or emailed to those who wish to be email only.
Children
Albuquerque Christian Children’s Home (ACCH) provides a safe home to children who have been abused, neglected, or are in need of supervision. These children can come to us in three different ways: (1) the Child, Youth, and Family Department (CYFD), (2) the different tribes throughout New Mexico, or (3) private placement by a parent or guardian. The children live with us through no fault of their own. They live on our campus in one of three different cottages with a set of full-time houseparents who take care of them as their own children. The children attend public school and come home to do homework and be with their ACCH family, just like any other child.
ACCH does not hold a license for adoptions, so we do not facilitate adoptions of any of our children. However, a child might be up for adoption through CYFD or through their tribal government while living at ACCH. If this is the case, a child might be adopted through the state or tribe. ACCH provides a safe, loving home to grow and thrive in as long as we are privileged to care for the child.
ACCH cares for school aged children, ages 5-18. We are not staffed to take care of infants, so we cannot take infants in. However, if there is a sibling group with a 3-year-old it is always best to keep the sibling group together, so ACCH provides care to all of them. ACCH tries to instill individual worth into each child while preparing them for successful and responsible adulthood. If a child reaches their teen years and beyond while with ACCH, we continue to provide for them just as a parent would. Whether that be entering the workforce or going to trade school or traditional college, we help them with job interviews, filling out applications and scholarships, and getting them a driver’s license and a car. However long a child is with us, we will care for them and help them succeed with love and encouragement all along the way.
Albuquerque Christian Children’s Home was founded by the churches of Christ. It was started in 1970 by a group of elders from the University Church of Christ in Albuquerque who noticed the significant need for a safe home for children. Since its inception, ACCH has striven to care for each child by showing them just how deep their Heavenly Father’s love is for them. We take in any child who needs our help, regardless of their race, religion, culture, national origin, financial status, or social status. While living at ACCH, the children attend church weekly with their houseparenting family, and they attend various church camps in the summertime. Our goal is not to convert them. Rather, we want to give the children in our care as many opportunities to discover how wonderful it is to have a relationship with the Father. It is completely up to the child to choose to love God. We pray every day over the children that they will find healing from their traumatic past by abiding in Jesus.
Volunteering
There are many ways to get involved in the work of ACCH. If you are an individual, you can volunteer your time through grounds work, specialized skills (plumbing, electricity, painting, etc.), tutoring or doing crafts with the children. If you are a business or a group looking to help, there are many service opportunities on our 6-acre campus to help clean up. If you like helping with events, there are three major events throughout the year that ACCH hosts and uses volunteers for. For a full list on how to get involved, check out our volunteer page.
We are in the business of protecting children, so we do not allow just anyone to interact with our kids. It takes time to build trust. If you would like to get involved in our children’s lives on a regular basis, you can apply to be one of our frequent volunteers with the children, helping with homework, after school activities, and summer events. A background check is required for every volunteer who works with our children. There is a fee to register for a background check, and this fee will come out of your own pocket. To learn how to apply to be a regular volunteer with the children, click here.
If your child is a minor, ACCH cannot provide a service opportunity for your child if you are not present with them the whole time they are on our campus. ACCH does not have the adequate number of staff members needed to supervise your child while on our campus.