In 2014, the Nicholtown Early Learning task force surveyed 250 parents to find out what they wanted for their children. They also interviewed community leaders — one of whom responded, “It should be a lifelong advantage to grow up in Nicholtown.”
The statement resonated with members of the task force, now known as the Nicholtown Child and Family Collaborative. For Chandra Dillard, NCFC board chair and S.C. state representative, growing up in Nicholtown was an advantage and the group continues to work to ensure that it will be for generations to come.
One need that had already been identified was for an early learning center. The Head Start program that previously served the community, housed in the Jesse Jackson Town Homes, hadn’t been replaced after the aging development was demolished to make way for new housing. Sterling School had been built in 2008 as a school of choice for four-year-old kindergarten through fifth grade students, with first choice going to students living in Nicholtown. But the task force believed more could be done to promote school readiness in younger children. That goal was accomplished in Oct. 2016, when the Rubye H. Jones Head Start Center opened at the Phillis Wheatley Center.
“Our work is rooted in education,” Dillard says. “Our first endeavor was bringing Head Start back to Nicholtown. Children could go to Head Start from ages 2–3 then start 4K at Sterling to create a continuous learning pipeline.”
From the 2014 survey, NCFC discovered other neighborhood concerns, including data indicating that parents felt disconnected and lonely.
“You can’t have successful children without the right infrastructure; you have to support the parents,” Dillard says. “We focus on giving them what they need to succeed and create a good place for children to grow.”
NCFC created the Parent Café, where families meet twice monthly for a hot meal followed by separate programming for children and adults. Associate director Judy Outlaw says the gatherings serve as a support group as well as an opportunity for parents to have their questions answered. When they were surveyed about preferred topics for upcoming programs, financial stability topped the list followed by affordable housing and how to improve credit scores.
“They just want the same things as everybody else, to do better for their children,” Outlaw says. “We’ve seen our parents’ group change lives. Bonding with each other is so important, knowing there’s a place they belong. They begged us to reopen during COVID; it was their only social interaction with other adults.”
As with many nonprofits, NCFC’s role shifted during the pandemic to helping families with basic needs, such as providing food boxes from Mill Village Farms. That program expanded to serve more members of the community, including elderly residents.
A large part of NCFC’s work is connecting parents with existing services like housing, job opportunities and child care. The collaborative’s extensive list of partners includes educational and philanthropic organizations, government agencies and service providers.
The organization has helped parents get items like school supplies, Christmas gifts, and Halloween costumes. When a school counselor brought it to their attention that some students couldn’t afford to go on important field trips with their classes, NCFC began providing partial scholarships.
“Some of these children never get to leave their neighborhood,” Dillard says. “They need these experiences so they can aspire to greater heights.”
This year the Community Foundation supported the work of the Nicholtown Child and Family Collaborative with an unrestricted grant of $5,000.
“Education is the foundation for building a vibrant community,” says CFG Board Chair Liz Seman. “We need creative solutions like the Parent Café to ensure that families have the support they need from the very beginning.”
For more information, visit https://nicholtownchildandfamily.org/.
