Connecting purpose, people and place to ensure child well-being.

25 Years! Where Has It Gone?

The Cabarrus County Partnership for Children was established in 1998, bringing the first Smart Start allocation to Cabarrus County with the purpose of improving child outcomes in early education, health, and family support. The non-profit was started by a group of very committed community members and Anne Laukaitis, the first Executive Director.

In 2002, the Partnership expanded bringing the More at Four Program to Cabarrus County, focusing on high quality classrooms to prepare the county’s children for Kindergarten. In 2010, this program changed their name to NC Pre-Kindergarten, and today we continue to serve 351 children annually in public schools, child care centers, and Head Start.

Throughout the past 25 years the Partnership has reviewed community needs and focused programming on the issues afflicting the youngest children in Cabarrus County.

In 2018, the Partnership expanded, yet again, to establish the cross-sector collaboration of The SUN Project. With the leadership of Dr. Russell Suda, in collaboration with the Cabarrus Health Alliance, we are supporting the health, safety, well-being and recovery of pregnant patients with a substance use disorder, their infants, and their families.

Over the years the Partnership has received many awards for our volunteers, for their tireless work for our youngest children and families.

In 2020, despite the challenges posed by the pandemic, the Partnership grew stronger and built amazing relationships with our child care community. We supported them through one of the hardest times in their lives, with the purpose of keeping our youngest children safe and well.

Our success has been no accident; it has taken hard work, perseverance, learning, and most of all, love and support from our volunteer board members, our amazing team of employees, and, You, our community, who have supported us over the last 25 years. Thank you from the bottom of my heart, for allowing us to serve the children of Cabarrus County, and we look forward to continuing to serve for many years to come.

Happy Holidays,

Ann Benfield
Executive Director

Watch: Celebrating 25 Years of Impact in Cabarrus County

Over the last two and a half decades, the Cabarrus County Partnership for Children has made a substantial impact on the lives of thousands of young children in Cabarrus County.

As we celebrate our 25th anniversary this year, we want to share with you some of the many successes we’ve had over the years and tell you about the programs we’ve put in place to ensure every child in our community has a healthy start and is ready to learn in kindergarten.

Early Care and Education

High-quality educational experiences designed to enhance school readiness for all children, ages birth to five, in Cabarrus County.

Programs Funded

Child Care Health Consultants

Early Education Liaison

Inclusive Child Care

Child Care WAGE$

NC Pre-K Administration

Smart Start Subsidy

29

# Classrooms

351

Children Total

162

# at Cabarrus Co. Schools

27

# at Kannapolis City Schools

36

# Head Start Dual Funded

126

# Located at private sites

  • 201

    Children received child care subsidies

  • 142

    Child care providers in 26 child care facilities participated in training from Child Care Health Consultants

  • 161

    Child care providers received professional development advising through the Early Education Liaison Program

  • 57

    Child care providers received Smart Start education scholarships and/or education award stipends through Early Education Liaison

  • 690

    On-site technical assistance and 276 phone/written technical assistance contacts provided to child care providers through Child Care Health Consultants and Inclusive Child Care

Health and Early Intervention

Programs Funded

Assuring Better Child Health and Development (ABCD)

Substance Use Network (SUN) Clinic Systems Building

Emergency Dental Services

  • 15,306

    Children received developmental and early intervention services through ABCD

  • 6

    Children received funding for Emergency Dental Services

  • 158

    Systems building meeting and technical assistance contacts including 13 community agencies to allow recruitment of 32 SUN Clinic patients

Family Education and Support

Programs Funded

Attachment Bio-Behavioral Catch-up (ABC)

Family Education and Support (Circle of Parents)

Parents as Teachers (PAT)

Reach Out and Read

Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library

  • 87,139

    Books mailed to children’s homes through the implementation of the Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library program.

  • 13,130

    Books distributed during well-child visits through the Reach Out and Read program.

  • 23

    Families received 204 customized home visits by a Parent Educator through Parents as Teachers

  • 4

    Families received 19 customized home visits by a Parent Educator through the ABC program

  • 14

    Parents received peer support through 28 Circle of Parents teen parent support group meetings

Cuddle Up Coat Drive

Each year, local businesses, organizations and individual supporters join forces with the Cabarrus County Partnership for Children to help collect hundreds of new and gently used coats and winter clothing items that are then distributed to children in need throughout Cabarrus County. This year marks the Cuddle Up Coat Drive’s 17th year of collecting coats for our local children.

$933

Collected to purchase coats

322

Children’s coats collected

258

Children’s coats distributed

Emergency Fund

The following items were purchased and distributed to local families in need thanks to your contributions to the Emergency Fund.

10 – Car seats

11 – Beds*

1 – Stroller

*Pack N Plays, Toddler Bed/Mattress, Twin Bed/Mattress

Financials

Revenues

Expenditures

Corporate and Foundation Contributors

Special thanks to our contributors for providing funding to support high-quality early education programs in Cabarrus County.

All Saints Episcopal Church

Barnes & Noble

Cabarrus Brewing Company

Cabarrus County

Cannon Baller Foundation Inc.

Duke Energy Foundation

Enterprise Holdings Inc.

Foundation for the Carolinas

McGill Baptist Church

Save The Children

Service Pro

Our Team

Ann Benfield | Executive Director

Ariel Ayers | Finance

Lauren Westin | Program Manager

Patricia Sehorn | Program Manager

Hannah Wareham | NCPK Coordinator

Lissy Rios | Program Assistant

Starla Hatley | ABCD/ROR Coordinator

Debra Pless | Child Care Health Consultant

Melissa Jones | Child Care Health Consultant


Board of Directors

Lashay Avery | Partners Behavioral Health Management

Marcella Beam | Cabarrus Health Alliance

Carla Brown | Cabarrus County

Karen Calhoun | Department of Human Services

Dr. Rosolena Conroy, MD | Licensed Therapist

Patrick Graham | WeBuild Concord

Danielle Mauldin | Kids’ Korner CDC & Kids Next Door

Amos McClorey | Retired, NAACP

Stephen Morris | Gem Theatre, County Commissioner

Gilbert Small | Retired, Business

Pam Smith | Cooperative Christian Ministry

Elizabeth Street | Assistant District Attorney

Waynett Taylor | Rowan-Cabarrus Community College

Get Involved

The Cabarrus County Partnership for Children is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, which means we depend on the support of our local community in order to provide evidence-based programs and critical services to ensure the well-being of Cabarrus County’s youngest population. There is a large population of children under the age of 5 who don’t have access to high-quality child care, early education, health services, and the basic programs and resources they’ll need in order to thrive. We need to reach the children who need our programs the most and we can’t do it without your help.

More Ways to Contribute

Make a monetary donation through mail, PayPal or Facebook to support one of our many evidence-based programs for children ages birth to five. Your support stays right here in Cabarrus County. Visit the link below to choose how you would like to contribute.

Honor Your Loved Ones This Holiday Season

Donate $30 or more to the Cabarrus County Partnership for Children and receive a pack of 6 Christmas cards drawn by local children in our NC Pre-K program! If you would like to donate $30 for 6 cards, Email Lauren

Duffle Bags of Hope

Children are entering Cabarrus County’s foster care system without the basic items they need to thrive. While resources are often available for younger children, they aren’t for children ages 12+. In response, the Cabarrus County Partnership for Children is filling up 30 backpacks with supplies for youth in Cabarrus County’s foster care system.

Support Our Online Fundraisers!

Contribute to one of our Facebook Fundraisers or create one of your own that supports the Cabarrus County Partnership for Children! Once created, share your Fundraiser with your family and friends! To create a Facebook Fundraiser, visit the link below, select “Raise Money” and follow the steps to getting your fundraiser set up!

Cabarrus Partnership for Children

1307 S. Cannon Blvd. Kannapolis, NC 28083
(Mail: PO Box 87, Kannapolis, NC 28082)

Ph: (704) 933-8278
cabarruspartnership.org