Community Chest Spotlight: Sewanee Children’s Center
The Sewanee Children’s Center (SCC) began in 1949. The SCC provides a high-quality preschool and after-school program to the youngest members of Sewanee and the surrounding communities of Franklin, Marion and Grundy counties. SCC currently serves 45 children in both pre-school and after-school care. The SCC serves more than 30 families in the local communities, and employs nine people.
The SCC is requesting $8,000 to fund their scholarship account and another $4,000 for general operations (a total of $12,000). The SCC has a long history of offering tuition assistance to families in need. These funds allow SCC to serve between seven and nine additional families that meet income eligibility guidelines. Often these children have the most to gain from access to high quality early childhood education services, but their families are not able to afford the care without financial assistance. The Community Chest funding of this program reaches many in the local community, including children and families most in need.
The $4,000 general operations money will be used to pay for rent on Lower Cravens Hall. The SCC expected to be in Lower Cravens for one year. This has turned into two years. Being removed from the physical center of town has hurt enrollment and funding for the summer and after school programs.
The SCC does get money from tuition fees and other donations. The SCC incurred $12,000 in unexpected moving expenses from Otey Parish to Cravens Hall last year. The Community Chest was able to provide $5,000 in moving expense assistance in addition to the $8,000 funds for the scholarship account. Yearly expenses for the SCC total more than $229,000. The biggest expenses are in payroll, rent and classroom supplies. Funding from the Community Chest is approximately six percent of the SCC’s total income.
The goal of the Sewanee Community Chest is to help citizens by funding the community. The Community Chest is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, and donations are tax-deductible. Send your donation to Sewanee Community Chest, P.O. Box 99, Sewanee, TN 37375.
We also accept PayPal for donations.
