Give the Kids Room to Grow
TOTAL GOAL: $7,500,000 RAISED: $6,300,000
For many years the need for expanded and updated program facilities was evident at The Cabbage Patch. In 2004 a strategic plan for expansion began in earnest, with the goal of ensuring that The Patch would be able to meet the increasing needs of the at-risk children and families we serve, as we had since 1910.
Through the Room to Grow Project, The Cabbage Patch was able to add 19,000 sq. ft. and renovate 10,000 sq. ft. of program space…an ambitious project costing $7.5 million. To date (July 2011) the board and campaign leadership has worked hard to raise $6.3 million toward the total amount needed.
Great things have resulted from this visionary project. From 2007 (our last full year of programming in our “old” facility) to 2010 (the first full year in our expanded and remodeled facility) we saw the following increases in participation:
- 46% increase in Recreation/Youth Development program attendees (809 different children in 2007, 1,181 children in 2010)!
- 95% increase in Educational Opportunities Program attendees (321 children in 2007, 635 in 2010)!
- 26% increase in average daily attendance (76 children/youth per day in 2007, 96 in 2010)
- We are able to serve more children within specific structured programs (i.e. instead of 12 children participating in our Seed to Table program, 15 can now participate because the room is larger)
- 43% increase in Summer Day camps due to expanded numbers of spaces (21 camps in 2010, 30 camps in 2011- Total attendance in camps increased 21% (1,743 in 2010, 2107 in 2011).
- Children no longer have to walk outside to attend Homework Helper, and because there is more room they don’t have to be told to come back later, resulting in more children participating in the program daily
- We now have a dedicated reading room, and daily you will find children seeking out this “quiet space” to read (a difficult activity in the over-crowded and/or chaotic homes in which many of the children live)
- Because we have a movable divider wall in the gym, we can simultaneously offer activities for younger children such as kick ball on one side and have cross-court basketball for teenagers on the other side
- An elevator and ramps mean virtually all programs are now accessible for those with mobility limitations and/or physical disabilities
There is now plenty of room for our children and youth to grow into their fullest potential, and The Cabbage Patch is well positioned to meet their changing needs with a 21st century facility. However, now, at just over $6.3 million raised, we are working diligently to raise the remaining $1.2 million in order to avoid long-term debt service. Every dollar going toward that means a dollar that cannot be spent on programs and services for children and families. We need your help!