CFNC Expands Services to Additional 36 Low-Income Families

Several weeks ago Louise entered our Birchmere center with a big smile on her face. She was excited because she had just heard that CFNC was re-opening two classrooms in the Charles Houston Recreation Center that had been closed for several years due to building renovations. The second she heard the news, she ran over to enroll her daughter because she knew from past experience that her daughter would receive the kind of high quality preschool experience that is typically only available for families who can afford to pay for it.

As she filled out enrollment forms, she told us about her son, a former student at CFNC, who is flourishing in school and loves the arts, which she said began in our preschool classroom eight years ago. Speaking of her son’s experience, Louise said, “His teachers were always telling me that I had to come into class to see his latest work.” As a young, single mother, she recalled how much it meant to her to be able to leave her only child at a safe and caring preschool while she went to work. Without CFNC, she had no other affordable option for her son. Today, eight years later, “he plans to be so many things: an artist, an architect, and an animator. I really attribute this to the center, because he spent so much time there at such an early age.”

CFNC expanded its free preschool programming to residents of Alexandria’s Charles Houston neighborhood in 1987. In 2006, these programs were suspended due to a planned major renovation of the Charles Houston Recreation Center. After three years, the renovations are complete! On September 8th, CFNC will re-open two classrooms at the center that will provide 36 low-income families with free preschool and family support services, increasing the total number of families served by CFNC from 157 in FY2009 to 193 in FY2010.

“Getting my daughter a place at CFNC is really a huge blessing for me because I’ve just started a new job,” Louise said. “Sending her to daycare would have been a huge out-of-pocket expense, and she still would not have had the benefit of qualified teachers with the ability to teach her through play.”

Charles Houston remains one of Alexandria’s neediest neighborhoods. 19% of Charles Houston residents live below 100% of poverty (compared to 7% city-wide); 35% live below 185% of poverty (compared to 20% city-wide); 20% of adults of have less than a high school diploma (compared to 13% city-wide); and 30% are African American (compared to 20% city-wide).

CFNC’s expansion is made possible by an increase in state funding through the Virginia Preschool Initiative and individual giving through our 25th Anniversary Benefit, as well as by the continued generous support of the City of Alexandria, the Freddie Mac Foundation, BAE Systems, Land & Armaments, the Cafritz Foundation, Bright Horizons Foundation for Children, and numerous other foundations and corporations. We would also like to extend a special note of thanks to Josh Dickinson, Larry Green, Jr., Andriy Harmatiy, Nicole McManus, Allen Sager, and Brendon Weiss - graduate students at the University of Maryland, for organizing a wonderful happy hour fundraiser last spring to benefit our two new Charles Houston classrooms.

Despite CFNC’s expansion this year, we are still not able to serve all of the children who need our programs. With a full enrollment of 193 children, CFNC still has over 90 children on our wait list.