The Columbia County Foundation for Children is a local nonprofit that has been serving the students of the Columbia County School District for 28 years.

The foundation seeks to identify and meet student needs of students so they can be successful in the classroom and in life. The foundation’s efforts support children financially, with food and clothing needs, and educational supports.

The foundation is governed by an all-volunteer board of directors, who use their own time to oversee the successful operation of the foundation’s Helping Hands Thrift Store, and also provides a Christmas gift program for children each year. In addition, the foundation offers annual needs-based college scholarship and financial assistance for students to attend summer school and summer camps.

For the 2021-2022 school year, the Columbia County Foundation for Children has donated more than $29,000 in college scholarships, and more than $7,000 for benevolence fund requests, which include financial assistance for things like uniforms, caps and gowns, health screenings, certification and other fees for extracurricular activities.

The giving doesn’t stop there. The foundation’s in-kind donations include items from the foundation's Pantry Project, which aims to fill the hygiene needs of children and teens. Items include things such as deodorant, clothes, bars of soap, underwear, socks, shampoo, toothbrushes and toothpaste, lotion, feminine hygiene products, diapers, body wash, washcloths, and more.

The foundation’s pantry program serves all of the Columbia County School District’s high schools, and has now expanded to meeting student needs in the middle and elementary schools. Through the pantry project, students in the Columbia County School District have received more than 700 pairs of underwear and more than 100 bars of deodorant. These items are donated to the foundation from within the community and then distributed based on needs identified in the schools.

For the 2021-2022 school year, the foundation’s pantry project has donated nearly $3,000 worth of items to help students in need in Columbia County. Though these are small items, providing them to students who go without, removes barriers to learning so they can be successful.

The Foundation works upon referrals from School Social Workers, who help identify students’ needs, and then work with the foundation to meet those needs.

Regarding the foundation's impact, one school social worker said:

“The Columbia County Foundation for Children has been instrumental in supporting students through providing financial assistance to purchase caps and gowns, funding and coordinating the holiday angel project, paying for yearbooks, CTAE uniforms, field trip fees, and so much more. In addition, the Helping Hands Thrift Store helps our families with clothing needs and is instrumental in times of tragedy such as a fire or other displacement events. They have been really supportive for our families in need.”

We are grateful to all of those who dedicate their time and effort as members of the foundation. Thank you for your efforts to continue the important mission to support students so they can be successful.

Congratulations to the Columbia County Foundation for Children, the Preston Blanchard Outstanding Partner in Education Award Winners for the 2021-2022 school year.