Spurgeon's facts for kids
Spurgeon's (it used to be called Spurgeon's Child Care) is a charity based in England. It has international projects in Mexico, Africa and Eastern Europe. Spurgeon's was founded in 1867 by Charles Spurgeon. He started it to care for fatherless boys. The first girls were accepted in 1879.
History
Spurgeon's originally started as an orphanage. It was called Stockwell Orphanage, and was started by Spurgeon in 1867. It was located in what is now Stockwell Park Estate, in Stockwell, London. It opened on 9 September 1869, and was originally for boys only. The orphanage had places for 250 children to live. These children were fed, clothed and taught at the orphanage. This all cost about £5,000 each year. The money to pay for this mainly came from donations.
The orphanage was a home for boys without fathers between the ages of six and ten. Even though the orphanage was created by Baptists, boys of any religion were accepted there. In 1879, other buildings for children to live in were added to the orphanage. This allowed the orphanage to begin letting girls live there also.
Stockwell Orphanage was open until London was bombed in the Second World War. It later turned into Spurgeon's Child Care (and then into Spurgeon's). It is now mainly in England, but has international projects in Mexico, Africa and Eastern Europe.
