Local nonprofit focused on single-parent families holding first gala fundraiser Friday
By Rachel Ham
Coladaily.com, Columbia, SC
Kids are discovering a love of reading with extra tutoring, middle schoolers are being kept off the streets in the summer, and parents are being given tools to better communicate and advocate for their children at a housing project in Columbia. The change to the complex is not the work of multiple agencies, but rather the programs are the work of a single nonprofit powered by volunteers.
The Center for Community and Family Transitions, which was established in 2010, is housed in and supported by Zion Canaan Baptist Church on Farrow Road. Board chairman and volunteer Jessie Chandler said the vision of helping families transition into stability and success was given to the church’s pastor. People from Zion Canaan Baptist and other parts of the city soon jumped on board to form the independent nonprofit.
Students put together beds for the center’s garden plots. (photo provided)
The center did a needs assessment of the community and found that working in the Latimer Manor Housing Complex would allow the nonprofit to meet a variety of needs for a large contingent of families. Volunteers did not just arrive at the apartments with a pre-ordained list of programs, but instead spoke to parents about how the center could help them specifically.
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