High Profile: SANDRA FOWLER

As two young girls in various stages of pregnancy walk through the door of the residential home of the Florence Crittenton Programs of South Carolina, they are greeted by Sandra Fowler's reassuring smile.

She conveys the message: "Your life might be falling apart and you may be scared to death, but for right now, you are going to be taken care of, so don't worry."

For 25 years, Fowler worked at Crittenton as life-skills director, outreach director, household director and executive director before retiring in 2005, but she also has a more personal reason to care about this institution.

"I'm a Crittenton graduate," she says with pride. "When these girls come through the door, I feel as if I'm taking care of my own birth mother vicariously."

Born at a Florence Crittenton home in Thunderbolt, Ga., near Savannah, Fowler was adopted at age 4 months by Florence Gibson Noonan, a Crittenton board member, and her husband, John Alexander Noonan.

On April 18, Fowler's life came full circle when, representing the Crittenton Programs of

South Carolina, she spoke at a congressional breakfast, sponsored by Sen. Jay Rockefeller, D-W.Va., and Sen. Richard Burr, R-N.C.

"That evening, I had quite a surprise at a banquet at the Mayflower Hotel where we were celebrating a 'Circle of Champions,' honoring those who have dedicated their careers to young women in their care," Fowler recalls in her measured, soft-spoken voice that through the years has calmed the fears of many a homesick, terrified pregnant girl.

It turned out Fowler was the highlight of the evening when the National Crittenton Foundation and Ms. Foundation awarded her the first Dr. Kate Waller Barrett Award for Lifetime Achievement. Barrett was one of the nation's first female pediatricians who joined philanthropist Charles Crittenton in leading a national movement he had founded in New York in 1883 to provide shelter and education, hope and opportunity for young women in crisis.

"I was truly shocked," says Fowler, who says she wondered why two close friends suggested she buy a new outfit for the banquet. Also present to see Fowler receive her award, a silver inscribed box, were several members of the Barrett family.

During her years spent working at the Crittenton home in Charleston, Fowler called on a circle of volunteers, much like those who started the home.

"The home was started because of an 1897 article in The Charleston News and Courier about a young, single woman who committed suicide because she was pregnant. A group of civic-minded women saw the story and was determined that 'this would not happen again,' " says Fowler.

These volunteers started a program providing the girls with medical care in a safe haven. The first house rented for them was on Williams Street and was named "Christ Love Mission." Some of the women would comfort the girls as they gave birth.

Hearing of the organization, philanthropist Charles Crittenton came by train from New York to meet with the women. He said he would help support the group if they changed the name to the Florence Crittenton Sanitorium and Training School, named for his daughter who died at 4. Around 1936, when the home opened, the street was renamed St. Margaret Street after the patron saint of difficult childbirth, Fowler notes.

A life of public service

In 1965, Fowler moved to Charleston and, in 1966, became the only white teacher at the all-black Laing High School. Three years later, she became active in the civil rights movement in Charleston.

"It was during the hospital strike in 1969 when black workers, who had been discriminated against for years, were protesting their pay and work conditions," she says. "I stapled a Martin Luther King 'I Have a Dream' poster on a yardstick and stood watching Ralph Abernathy and Coretta Scott King rounding the corner with about 2,000 protesters behind them.

"Suddenly, I heard a male voice yell at me, 'Well, if you have a dream, don't just stand there. Get in this march!'

"And so I stepped off the curb and joined the march. After a few blocks, I saw Abernathy and Charleston Police Chief John Conroy standing nose to nose in front of Central Baptist Church and then, myself and three students, were stopped by a row of fixed bayonets held by the National Guard. I will never forget the feeling of having those blades pointed so close to our chests," Fowler recalls. "We dashed into the back door of Edwards Dime Store and out the front, disappearing down King Street."

These days, life for Fowler remains as active as ever. Single for many years, she enjoys her Sullivan's Island house, a renovated church built in 1929 for Protestants on the island. In her charming loft, artists, writers and musicians often perform among her Irish artifacts. Also, she volunteers at Crittenton, where director Greg Liotta and his staff served 23 residential clients and 14 day clients in 2008.

"I can't imagine not working with the Crittenton girls," Fowler says. "They are doing a very brave thing. And society needs to support and respect that."

Reach Dottie Ashley at 937-5704 or dashley@post andcourier.com.