We need your help to provide presents for birthdays, graduations, family reunifications, adoptions and other special occasions for the children served by CASA and the Children’s Advocacy Center.
Contact Kim Skidmore at (903) 583-4339 or kim@fanninccc.org to be added to our Celebration Box provider list.
As needs arise, we will contact you and provide you with the age, gender and wishes of a child and a deadline for when the gift is needed. Once you purchase a gift, we ask that you wrap the present using a gift bag, then place it in a box that is suitable for mailing (but do not seal the box). The Celebration Box should be brought to the Fannin County Children’s Center at 112 West Fifth Street in Bonham. Staff will then add a personal card from the appropriate people, seal the box, address it and mail it.
For more information or to add your name to our Celebration Box provider list, contact Kim Skidmore at (903) 583-4339 or kim@fanninccc.org.
To make a monetary donation for Celebration Boxes, give now.
Rainbow Room Collection Drive
Collection Drives for the Rainbow Rooms are a great and fun way for your church, school, business or other organization to provide for the critical needs of the abused, neglected and needy children of Fannin County.
Here's just a few creative ideas to get you going:
Undy Sunday – underwear and diapers
Baby Shower – host a baby shower and collect blankets, clothes, diapers, etc.
Greeting Card Party – greeting cards for birthdays, “just thinking of you” and holidays
BooBoo Kits – fun band-aids, first aid supplies, etc.
Get the Bugs Out – lice medication kits, insect spray, flea spray, rodent traps, etc.
Bountiful Baskets/Buckets – household cleaners, sponges, brooms, mops, rubber gloves, etc. in laundry baskets or plastic buckets
Spring cleaning – laundry basket with laundry detergent and household cleaning supplies
Fresh Start – toothbrush, toothpaste, brush, combs, other personal hygiene products
Back to School – backpacks, notebook paper, pencils, pens, crayons, notebooks and other supplies
Coins for Kids – collect coins to donate to the center
Making Change – collect spare change
Best Foot Forward – collect new shoes, socks and/or sneakers
Sock Hop – have a dance to collect new socks
Snacks & Drinks – collect individually wrapped snacks and drinks, such as juice, bottled water, pudding cups, applesauce, cheese & crackers, pretzels, fruit snacks, etc.
Pajama Party – have a PJ party and collect new pajamas, slippers, pillows and blankets
Coats for Kids – new coats, jackets
Bed & Bath party – new sheets, blankets, pillowcases, towels, wash cloths
Blue Jean Day – collect new blue jeans for the Rainbow Room or let people wear blue jeans to work for a donation to the Children’s Center
Please contact Kim Skidmore at the Fannin County Children’s Center at (903) 583-4339 or kim@fanninccc.org to discuss our current needs and your plans and ideas.
Open Your Heart
Since 1993, the Fannin County Children’s Center has been serving kids from hard places. Our center is a place where caring professionals from a variety of disciplines, dedicated volunteers and our generous community come together to promote safety and improve the lives of abused and neglected children.
When the pandemic started about a year ago, our work continued. We adapted to be as safe as possible while still striving to serve children. Child visits, counseling sessions, case coordination meetings and even court hearings started happening virtually. Forensic interviews and some critical meetings continued to happen in person, with extra safety precautions in place.
Your generosity is needed now to continue this important, life changing work that helps abuse to stop, healing to begin and more. We need more Champions of Children who set up automatic monthly gifts of any amount. It’s easy to do on our website or through your own automatic bill pay. Monthly giving is a way that even small gifts can add up to make a big impact.
Whether you choose to make a one-time gift or start a monthly gift, your support is needed to help kids from hard places have a chance to heal, grow and thrive! Thank you for your consideration!
Individually wrapped snacks & juice boxes for children who come to the center (for example, peanut butter & crackers, pudding cups, fruit roll-ups, cheese crackers, granola bars, pretzels, fruit snacks, granola bars, etc.)
Bottled water, juice boxes & canned soft drinks
Markers, crayons and colored pencils
Coloring books for teens
Journals
Play dough, butcher paper, paints, beads & other craft materials for therapy sessions
New clothing, underwear, coats, socks & shoes for boys and girls ages 0-17 - especially jeans, shirts and shorts
Diapers, Pull-ups and baby wipes
Pacifiers, teething toys
New duffel bags
Gift cards for teens
Letter size copy paper in white & assorted colors
Pens, markers
Legal pads
Clorox wipes, other cleaning supplies
Paper plates, cups, napkins and plastic utensils
Paper towels & toilet paper
Trash bags
On-line Wish List at Amazon - go to www.amazon.com and find our Wish List by searching for "Fannin County Children's Center." There, you will find all kinds of items on-line that we wish for. Selections will include our most needed office supplies, books for use during therapy sessions with our children, youth and adults, and more.
Monetary donations are also welcome. All donations are tax deductible to the extent allowable by law.
Checks can be made out to the Fannin County Children’s Center & brought or mailed to the center at 112 West Fifth Street, Bonham, TX 75418
We are happy to accept gifts in memory or honor of a loved one. Be sure to let us know the name of the honored person and the name and mailing address of who we can send a card to in order to let them know you gave. We do not disclosed the amount of the gift.
Tribute Funds for the Fannin County Children’s Center are an excellent way to honor the memory or accomplishments of loved ones. Memorial or celebratory gifts of at least $1,000 may be designated as a Tribute Fund. The donor may name the fund. The gift will provide a solid foundation for the future and long term needs of the center. The donor may also choose help us create a page on our website in honor of the honored one.
Donors who wish to create a named Tribute Fund but cannot personally give $1,000 may elect to invite friends and family to join them in giving in order to establish the fund. Once you have created your campaign, you will have a link you can share with family and friends via letters, email and/or social media.
We also welcome off-line gifts of cash or checks at the center. Checks can be made out to FCCC and delivered to 112 W. 5th, Bonham, TX 75418. Please be sure to indicate what Tribute Fund your gift is designated for.
If you have questions or are interested in creating a Tribute Fund in memory or honor of someone, please contact our Executive Director, Kim Skidmore at (903) 583-4339 or kim@fanninccc.org.
The Brad Dardaganian Fund is available to give to.
Jacques “JQ” Fuller (2001-2017)
YOU NEVER SAID GOODBYE -Author Unknown
You never said I’m leaving
You never said goodbye.
You were gone before I knew it,
And only God knew why.
A million times I needed you,
A million times I cried.
If love alone could have saved you,
You never would have died.
In life I loved you dearly,
In death I love you still.
In my heart you hold a place,
That no one could ever fill.
It broke my heart to lose you,
But you didn’t go alone
For part of me went with you,
The day God took you home.
John Richards met Joanne Eicher at the University of Illinois, Champaign-Urbana. After they graduated in 1963, they were married. They were a hard-working, middle class parents who raised two children in Illinois and Texas.
John worked hard in various jobs in sales and customer service over the course of his life. In his free time, he loved to play golf and was an avid model railroad fan. He always found space to have his trains in his home, even if it was the basement or garage. In his home in Pantego, Texas, he devoted a whole bedroom to his trains and town layout.
Joanne was a homemaker, Girl Scout Leader, PTA President and officer in her women’s golf league when their children were younger. Once her children were older, she began to go back to work and eventually went back to school. She earned a Master’s in Accounting from University of Texas at Arlington and became a Certified Public Accountant.
The John and Joanne Richards Fund was established by their children Bob Richards and Sandy Barber to honor the values and lessons they learned from their parents and to sustain Sandy’s passion and mission for serving children who come from hard places. Sandy became the Executive Director of the Fannin County Children’s Center in 2001. She and her brother Bob credit their parents with teaching them the values of hard-work, honesty, integrity, kindness and compassion for others. Their parents also regularly demonstrated a deep desire and willingness to always go above and beyond the call of duty in service to others, while expecting nothing in return.
Build The Dream
Architect rendering of the future home of the Children's Center
Since 1993, our center has served hundreds of children from hard places each year. We have continued to evolve and develop to meet the growing and changing needs of our community's most vulnerable children. In the past few years, the number of children referred to our CASA and Children'
Help us meet the $100,000 challenge from the Glaser and Donaghey families!
We have received generous gifts and pledges of $50,000 from the Glaser Family Charitable Foundation and $50,000 from Bonnie Donaghey in memory of her late husband, Lewis. Your gift will be matched dollar for dollar by these families. That means your donation of $100 would be double to make a contribution of $200!
With your gift, we will be ready to meet the challenges that lie ahead so that kids from hard places will always have a safe place and someone on their side to help them as they heal and grow.
Donations in Memory or Honor of Others: (check back soon - we are updating the giving pages)
Donate in honor of CASA Advocates
Donate for Doyce Taylor's Room
Donate for Dana's Room
Donate for Lola Fry's Room
Donate for John and Joanne Richards Room
Naming Opportunities
We have several opportunities to have a room or space named for a loved one in our new facility. To discuss, please contact Kim Skidmore.
Gifts of Stocks
We are able to accept gifts of stocks, which could give donors savings on capital gains taxes. Discuss your situation with your tax advisor and then contact Kim Skidmore to make arrangements for a gift of stocks.
IRA Distributions
Donors who are at the age where they must take distributions from their IRA could have some tax advantages by donating directly from their IRA. Consult your financial advisor and then contact Kim Skidmore to make arrangements.
Contact Kim Skidmore
at (903) 583-4339 or kim@fanninccc.org
We are excited to participate in North Texas Giving Day again in 2022!
Our goal this year is to raise $30,000 in honor of 30 years of serving children from hard places.
We are thrilled to report that we have a grand total of $10,000 in matching funds from TXB and McCraw Oil! That means your gift will be matched dollar for dollar. Also, every gift of $25 or more will make us eligible for chances to win prizes and bonus funds.
All gifts given for North Texas Giving Day will help sustain all of the services we provide to children, youth and families, including CASA, Children's Advocacy Center, Child Abuse Prevention, Rainbow Rooms, Christmas Drive and School Supply Drive.
Early giving opens on Sept 1, 2022! The deadline to give is midnight, Sept 22.
We are seeking Super Fans to help make this year's event the best one ever! Super Fans are supporters who are passionate about our mission and want to help champion our cause!
Set up your page now by clicking on the link below and then clicking on the "Fundraise" button. Personalize your page and publish! Be sure to share the link to your personal page on your social media, text and/or by email.
"At the end of the day, it's not about what you have or even what you've accomplished. It's about what you've done with those accomplishments. It's about who you've lifted up, who you've made better. It's about what you've given back." - Denzel Washington
