September is a busy month for CFMC!

Lilly applications closed last month, bringing in 122 applicants from across the county.  As our scholarship committee reviews applications, Jennifer O’Neal and I have been presenting checks to our Thrive Grant winners and continuing our mission to meet all of Morgan County’s not-for-profits.  What I am learning is too voluminous for one article so I am spotlighting one not-for-profit each month (or in this instance two devoted to the same effort) so readers can experience “meeting” them as I am.

I met with Shane Williams, Development Director at the Boys & Girls Club of Morgan County, after receiving a welcome note from him a few days after arriving at my new post in May.  It is hard to describe the deep commitment Shane and his lovely wife Rebecca have for “The Club.”.  I was shocked to learn it costs families $20 per year for after-school care for each student and $40 per week for full time care during school breaks. Even more impressive, teenagers are FREE!  Since they are an at-risk population, The Club wants to attract and engage as many teens as possible.  Morgan Settle, Program Director for Teens and Sports focuses her attention on programs to engage and challenge these teens.

For Morgan County, which is considered a childcare desert, this is an unbelievable benefit for working families.  Besides being affordable, Club kids are receiving homework assistance and engaging in everything from bike rides through Mooresville to basketball, gardening, and even ant farming!  They receive healthy, after-school snacks (including apples donated by Anderson Orchard) and in some instances, dinner since the Club is open until 7 pm.  In summary, Club kids receive program-focused curriculum that exposes and engages them to new experiences and active lifestyles.  Shane shared with me that one of their Club kids actually lost 60 pounds since starting at The Club last year!

CFMC awarded the Club a grant in 2022 to help with their transportation needs.  The Club has responded to the need for transportation, meal service, homework assistance, academic enrichment, activities, and parents’ need for affordable childcare.  What a win for Morgan County!!  Well, not all of the county…

Understandably, the beneficiaries of the Boys & Girls Club are predominately Mooresville families.  Currently, they cannot serve families in Eminence, Monrovia, Martinsville and beyond.  This was front of mind as I met Shelby Burkett, Director of the Martinsville Youth Development Center (MYDC), who since 2016– all by herself – has operated an impressive program for Martinsville’s youth from the former K-Mart building, generously donated by private donors.  MYDC offers homework assistance, after-school snacks, substance abuse prevention, basketball courts, batting cages, art and cooking classes, a library, and a computer lab!  MYDC hosts 5th – 8th graders from 2:30 pm to 6 pm when school is in session only.  Some former students return after 8th grade to help with the current students, having felt the impact of the programming and wanting to ensure the next group of kids have the same experience. There is no summer program due to the lack of transportation and staffing.  Transportation is a big problem, and more students could participate if this issue alone could resolved.  Shelby’s contribution to these kids is amazing, but Martinsville kids are underserved as are those in Monrovia, Eminence, and other outlying areas of our county.  She has over 40 kids after school but no summer program.  CFMC supported MYDC this year through a Capacity grant which Shelby used for IT upgrades.  I want to do more to assist with the transportation and staffing issues!

After meeting these impressive, impactful facilities, I asked myself, how can CFMC do more to help the Boys & Girls Club better serve all of Morgan County and help MYDC serve more Martinsville youth?  The answers are not as clear as the obstacles, but I am certain the solutions will be more plentiful if we accomplish our goal of getting the Lilly match dollars.  As I have mentioned previously (and as you will continue to hear), the Lilly Endowment provides a matching program every few years to help grow CFMC’s endowment.  They have committed $1 million to Morgan County if we can raise $450,000 in donations.  The Lilly dollars remain in our endowed fund in perpetuity, and over time, as it grows, so do the annual disbursements from which our not-for-profits benefit.  To meet our county’s needs, like childcare, we must grow our endowment.  We cannot miss out on this $1 million dollar gift from Lilly.  To solve or even assist with such critical problems like Morgan County’s childcare issues does seem daunting, much like eating an elephant, but we all know that can be done by eating one bite at a time.  Truly every dollar counts.

To make a donation, or establishing a fund, contact me directly at kcole@cfmconline.org.