The Community Foundation of Greenville is proud to announce the local recipients of $600,000 in signature anniversary grants in honor of the Foundation’s 60th year. The South Carolina Children’s Theatre, Greenville Free Medical Clinic, Camperdown Academy and Greenville Center for Creative Arts received a total of $600,000 – $100,000 for each decade that the Community Foundation has been giving back to Greenville.
“The Community Foundation of Greenville is honored to have played a role in making Greenville what it is today, and our commitment to this community is as strong today as it was sixty years ago,” said Community Foundation of Greenville President Bob Morris. “These four organizations are making a huge difference in the lives of our citizens. We are proud to provide these gifts to allow them to further their missions.”
For the past 25 years, the South Carolina Children’s Theatre has been entertaining, educating and enriching the minds of young people, serving more than 43,000 children and families annually and growing to be the largest children’s theatre in the state. The Community Foundation of Greenville awarded SCCT $250,000 to support SCCT’s capital campaign to build a permanent theatre arts campus for children in Greenville.
“We’ll have our own 300 seat theatre, numerous classrooms, all of the support areas for the theatre and we’ll all be back home in one place again,” said SCCT Executive Director Debbie Bell. “A gift this public is a tremendous catalyst to continue in our fundraising efforts. It is such a strong endorsement of our organization and validates our plans and aspirations for the future.”
The Greenville Free Medical Clinic promotes wellness and provides caring, quality primary medical care and dental services, health education and prescription medications without charge to eligible low-income uninsured Greenville County residents. The Community Foundation of Greenville awarded the clinic $125,000 to increase the comprehensive medical care available to their patients in outlying areas of Greenville County who face transportation obstacles as well as access to care barriers.
“We were just delighted to be asked to be a part of this 60th Anniversary and to be recognized with a grant,” said Greenville Free Medical Clinic Executive Director Suzie Foley. “It’s always exciting. We can buy more medications. We can do a lot more for our patients.”
Since 1986, Camperdown Academy has enabled students with average to above average intelligence, who also experience learning difficulties in the areas of reading, organization, language processing and written expression, to reach their maximum academic potential. The Community Foundation of Greenville awarded Camperdown Academy $125,000 to support their capital campaign to build a facility with adequate learning and play space that is designed to serve specialized needs, is cost-effective to maintain, provides space for teacher training and offers accessibility from the interstate.
“We plan to build a building that is about twice the size of what we currently have,” said Head of School Dan Blanch. “Camperdown is not a school of want, it’s a need. And with the help of the Community Foundation of Greenville, we’re going to solidify our foundation and hopefully touch more people”
Founded by a dedicated group of artists, teachers and community leaders, the Greenville Center for Creative Arts is the anchor for Greenville’s visual arts community, providing classes, exhibitions and opportunities to cultivate art appreciation while experiencing Greenville’s growing art community. The Community Foundation of Greenville awarded $100,000 to support the center’s capital campaign to buy the Cloth and Cotton Warehouse buildings to establish a permanent home for the visual arts in Greenville.
“To have a large organization that has a significant impact on the life of Greenville recognize our efforts and validate us and say we want to support the vision that you’re creating is an amazing thing,” said GCCA Executive Director Cherington Love Shucker. “We need a permanent home for the visual arts in Greenville and are so pleased that the Community Foundation of Greenville agrees with us.”
The anniversary grant recipients were announced at a special celebration at The Poinsett Club Thursday evening hosted by Greenville Women Giving and sponsored by United Community Bank.
“United Community Bank is proud to partner with an organization that fills such an important role in this community. We congratulate all of award recipients and look forward to their continued growth and success made possible by these grants,” said Michelle Seaver, president of United Community Bank – Greenville County.
Greenville Women Giving is a special initiative of the Community Foundation of Greenville committed to strengthening the community through the collective resources of its members. It was established with the help of a grant given by the Community Foundation of Greenville in honor of its 50th year. The philanthropist who made that grant possible, the late Jean Harris Knight, was also recognized at last night’s celebration.
“As a philanthropist dedicated to furthering women’s issues in our community, we know Jean Harris Knight would be pleased to know her gift helped establish an organization as impactful as Greenville Women Giving,” said Morris. “Unrestricted gifts allow us to give as we see needs unfold in our community. We are thankful to Jean for settings such an inspiring example for others to follow.”
For more information on the Community Foundation of Greenville, please visit www.cfgreenville.org.
