Every Child Deserves a Chance
- Jessica Lee
- 3 days ago
- 4 min read
Meet Halie Sue Clifton
Some people make a career out of moving fast. Halie Sue Clifton has made a career out of moving purposefully and that distinction matters. Halie serves as the Director of Special Gifts at Methodist Home for Children, and she’s been doing that work with steady joy for the past eight years. Before that, she sharpened her development experience with UNC–Chapel Hill and at Meredith College (her alma mater), learning how to connect mission-driven organizations with the people who want to make a difference but sometimes aren’t sure where to start.
What stood out to us isn’t just Halie's résumé, it’s how naturally her work mirrors what Rotarians try to do every day. Rotary is full of professionals who believe our skills mean more when they’re used in service of others. Halie lives that out. Special gifts work is equal parts relationship-building, long-view planning, and practical problem-solving, all things Rotary values. It’s “Service Above Self” in a blazer… and occasionally in running shoes, because in the middle of everything else, Halie is also a runner, a volunteer at her kids’ schools and church, and a mom to three little ones: Grey (8), Cooper (5), and baby Virginia (8 months).
Mission and Impact
Methodist Home for Children (often called MHC) has a mission that feels both simple and profound: to build upon the social, physical, emotional, and spiritual strengths of children, youth, and families, and to affirm their worth. That mission isn’t just a slogan, it shows up in the scale of their work. In the most recent year highlighted in the presentation, 1,225 individuals received care, delivered through 26 unique services, representing 132,864 days of care, with children and families served across 73 North Carolina counties.
For those of us in Raleigh, it’s powerful to realize that an organization with statewide reach also carries a deep, local heartbeat. MHC’s work includes foster care and adoption support, early childhood services, family preservation, in-home support, and programs for youth involved in the juvenile justice system, many of which require patience, specialized training, and a willingness to keep showing up when situations are complicated. That commitment aligns tightly with Rotary’s own mission: bringing people together to take action, strengthen communities, and create lasting change. A mutual instinct: see a need, step in, stay with it.
Halie’s talk and Why It Resonated with Rotary
A theme echoed throughout the presentation: urgency with compassion. The report opens with a story of MHC staff responding after Hurricane Helene, when contact was lost with their Asheville center and the situation looked grim. In the middle of uncertainty, the mindset was clear: “We have to go.” That phrase carried through the larger message, children and families don’t get to pause their crises until it’s convenient for the helpers. MHC’s work is built around responding now, because “every minute counts.”
Halie also helped connect the dots between mission and measurable outcomes. We heard about tangible wins like early childhood classrooms preparing kids for success (including rising kindergartners meeting readiness goals), and wide-ranging services that reach families in crisis with practical support and steady guidance. We also heard how this work demands excellence behind the scenes, training, CPR certification, structured programming, and careful stewardship, so that care is consistent, safe, and effective. Rotary folks understand this in our bones: service isn’t only a big moment on a stage; it’s the follow-through, the structure, and the teamwork that make “help” real in someone’s everyday life.
Why We Do What We Do
There’s a line in the presentation that keeps coming back to me: the clock is ticking. Not in a panic-inducing way, but in a clear-eyed way. Childhood is made of minutes. Stability is built in minutes. Trust is rebuilt in minutes. And when a child has experienced loss, trauma, or instability, the minutes matter even more, because each one can either reinforce what they fear or begin to show them what’s possible.
Rotarians talk a lot about impact, but at our best, we’re really talking about hope with sleeves rolled up. We donate, we volunteer, we mentor, we advocate, we partner; because we believe people deserve a fair shot. Halie said it plainly in her own way: God’s work at MHC is evident, and she feels fortunate to be part of something so impactful. That kind of grounded gratitude is contagious. It reminds us that service isn’t a side hobby for “someday.” It’s a decision we make repeatedly, right where we live, with the people right in front of us.
Want to Join Us?
If you’ve ever thought, “I’d love to help, but my schedule is already doing cartwheels,” we get it. Halie is raising three kids (including an 8 month old!), volunteering at school and church, and still finding time to run. So no, none of us are looking for perfect availability. We’re looking for willing people. Rotary is a place for folks who want to do some good, laugh a little while doing it, and go home feeling like their time meant something. Also, no worries: we do not administer a surprise exam on Rotary history at the door. (We save that for… never.)
And yes, you can sit with us even if your college football loyalties are suspicious. Halie cheers for the Tennessee Volunteers in the middle of North Carolina country, which tells you two things: she’s committed, and she’s brave. So consider this, your friendly invitation. Join us at a meeting. Bring a friend. Bring your curiosity. Bring your “I’m not sure where I fit, but I’d like to try.” Because when organizations like Rotary and Methodist Home for Children pull in the same direction, our community gets stronger, and the kids and families who need steady support feel it sooner rather than later. After all, every minute counts.
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