Local · Trusted · Free
The Morning Impact — your neighborhood's most important stories, delivered every morning.
Texas Baptist Children’s Home offers four core programs to help support children, young adults, mothers and Williamson County residents.
TBCH is a Christian organization that provides all community members in need of assistance with counseling, housing support and more, regardless of religion.
The background
In 2025, the nonprofit is celebrating 75 years of service, which began in 1950 when Louis and Billie Sue Henna donated 112 acres of land and five buildings to establish TBCH in Round Rock.
“The vision they had back in the late 40s [was] to do something where children would just feel so safe and protected,” Debbie Rippstein, president of TBCH, said.
TBCH has since grown to four key programs and last year they served 58 moms, 93 children and 27 young adults. Throughout the years of growth, Rippstein said that TBCH keeps children at the heart of what they do.
About the program
The Family Care program gives housing to mothers and children in the community, as well as individual and group counseling. In addition to living onsite in the organization’s cottages, mothers also receive assistance with clothes, auto repair, groceries and more.
Rippstein said she wants the moms to feel at home when they arrive, helping them settle in and create a plan for the future.
“We ask them, ‘What are your dreams? What would you hope to accomplish?’ And [we] start giving them the possibilities,” Rippstein said. “It's amazing. Sometimes they say, ‘No one's ever asked me that before,’ and they might be 35 years old.”
The Home Base program provides housing to young adults who have aged out of the foster care system or are facing homelessness and are continuing their education or establishing a career. Young adults also receive assistance with life skills, counseling, budgeting, job readiness, academic goal setting and more. The program currently provides housing for up to 20 young adults.
“They may go back and get a GED, they may want to go to college, they may want to get a technical degree,” said Rippstein. “But if they do go to college, then where do they go in the summer and where do they go [on] breaks? Where's home? We can be that home.”
TBCH also supports young adults through the Welcome HOME program formed in 2013 by community partners. The program is a drop-in resource center with services like free GED classes, support groups, internet and laptop access, showers and hygiene products, a food pantry and more.
“The thing that I'm passionate about is that the children's home is opening people's worlds up and allowing them to see that there's more out there than what [they’ve] seen or what [they’ve] experienced,” said David Gillian, director of development.
Gillian was a resident at the children’s home from 1986-1993, and later returned with his wife to serve as house parents for 10 years.
One more thing
The Hope Counseling program is open to all of Williamson County at three different locations in Round Rock and Georgetown, providing free counseling and education to community members.
Get involved
TBCH encourages community involvement through monetary donations, food, clothing and household item donations, vehicle donations and volunteering. The organization is currently seeking donations of gently worn clothing for women and children and new socks and underwear for children.
“It's taking some of the weight off of the moms,” Gillian said. “It's giving people an opportunity to connect their hearts with the organization.”
