Marillyn Hewson, former CEO of Lockheed Martin, and her family helped dedicate the first home built at Freedom Farm on September 30 to house a foster family in Coker.
“We have a foundation that is basically our family, our two sons, my husband and I, and Will is the one who brought it to our foundation and said this was something that our foundation would like to donate to,” Marillyn said Hewson. Will, her son, also serves on the Freedom Farm board.
“It’s critical. You hear all the stories about kids going from home to home and getting into all these different situations. It’s something that has a place for them and ultimately a community for them with multiple homes. much better trajectory for the future,” said Will Hewson.
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The Hewson Foundation donated $500,000 to build the house. This is the first house of seven planned for the first phase of construction. Each of the homes will be home to a foster family, which under state rules can house up to six foster children, plus three of their own children. The homes are furnished by High Socks for Hope, a charitable foundation founded by David Robertson, a Major League Baseball player from Tuscaloosa.
Freedom Farm is the vision of Dr. Johnny Waits and exists on land he purchased in Coker. The first phase of development includes the already completed chapel and the first house. The plan provides for the construction of a recreational facility and six homes. The Freedom Farm is a Christ-centered community not affiliated with any single church.
“We decided we wanted to help build the first house which would act as a kind of snowball effect to get others in the community to donate and help continue the momentum of Freedom Farm,” said Will Hewson.
The first house is named the Hewson House in honor of the donation. Marillyn Hewson and her husband, James, met as students at the University of Alabama and now have a building on campus named after them after making a $15 million gift to help build the building that is part of the Culverhouse College of Business.
Marillyn Hewson was chairman, president and CEO of Lockheed Martin Corp., but is now retired.
Reach Gary Cosby Jr. on gary.cosby@tuscaloosanews.com.
This article originally appeared on The Tuscaloosa News: Marillyn Hewson family sponsors first home at Freedom Farm in Coker
