Falls Church-McLean Children’s Center Named ‘One of the Best’ Nonprofits

From Falls Church McLean Children's Center: After a careful vetting process, the Catalogue for Philanthropy: Greater Washington has selected Falls Church-McLean Children’s Center to be part of the Class of 2017-18. Falls Church-McLean Children’s Center has undergone an extensive review process and has met the Catalogue’s high standards. Potential donors can be confident that the nonprofits in the Catalogue are worthy of their support. Falls Church-McLean Children’s Center’s mission is to provide a comprehensive, high-quality early childhood education designed to give all children, regardless of their family’s financial resources, a strong foundation on which to build the rest of their lives.

“People want to know where to give and they need trusted information. Based on our in-depth review, we believe that Falls Church-McLean Children’s Center is one of the best community-based nonprofits in the region,” says Barbara Harman, founder and president of the Catalogue for Philanthropy.

Celebrating its 50th Anniversary next year, Falls Church-McLean Children’s Center continues to serve 75 children from low- and moderate-income, working families in its full-time, year-round early education program. While their parents work, children ages 2 thru 5, receive 2 nutritious meals and 2 healthy snacks each day and a full schedule of learning through play, exploration and teacher-guided lessons aimed at building children’s essential skills in language (English and Spanish), literacy, pre-math, pre-science, social-emotional and physical skills to levels expected of incoming kindergartners.

Children who are struggling or identified through frequent assessments as having special needs receive appropriate support services such as speech therapy, behavioral counseling, or occupational therapy at the Children’s Center. By addressing children’s delays at an early age, while their bodies and brains are still developing, most children can overcome those delays and avoid starting school with a learning gap that would put them on a path toward academic failure.

“We’re proud of the Children’s Center’s strong early education program and very pleased that the Catalogue has selected the Center as one of the best small nonprofits in the DC region for the fifth consecutive time since 2005,” said Sonya Powell, Children’s Center Board President.

The Children’s Center’s profile on the Catalogue for Philanthropy’s online directory can be viewed at www.cfp-dc.org/nonprofits/1286/Falls-Church-McLean-Childrens-Center

This year, reviewers helped select 76 charities to feature in the print edition, 34 of which are new to the Catalogue this year. It also selected an additional 32 nonprofits to be re-featured on its website, and congratulated 10 on growing beyond the Catalogue’s $3 million budgetary limit. The network now includes more than 400 vetted nonprofits working in the arts, education, environment, human services, and international sectors throughout greater Washington. (International charities must be headquartered in the DC region.)

Established in 2002, the Catalogue celebrates its 15th anniversary this year. Since its inception it has raised $38 million for nonprofits in the region. It also offers trainings, neighborhood-based opportunities for collaboration, and a speakers series for individuals who want to learn about and engage with the needs, challenges, and accomplishments of our shared community.

The Catalogue believes in the power of small nonprofits to spark big change. As the only locally focused guide to giving, its goal is to create visibility for the best community-based charities, fuel their growth with philanthropic dollars, and create a movement for social good in the greater Washington region. The Catalogue charges no fees; it raises funds separately to support its work.

Image courtesy of Falls Church-McLean Children's Center