Elaine Scarborough built the Anson County Partnership for Children up for two decades. Caroline Goins has plans to continue the organization’s service long into the future.
Scarborough began the organization and built it from the ground up in 1996, gradually adding programs. Over the years, many were added and some lost due to a lack of funding. While the executive director, she started the Barn Blast, the organization’s largest fundraiser of the year and which has become a model for other partnerships hoping to copy some of Anson’s success.
Goins doesn’t want to fix something that’s not broken.
From volunteer to director
She started as the program coordinator for the Partnership not quite two years ago, but had already had her sights set on becoming the Partnership’s eventual director.
As the daughter of two educators, Goins learned about the importance of teaching children from birth onwards, starting their education well before they reach kindergarten.
Her mother, Margaret Goins, retired earlier this year after teaching in Anson County for 40 years. Her late father, John Goins, was a librarian.
Goins has lived in Wadesboro for most of her life, barring her time out of the county for school and working in Fayetteville for the Kidville News as the managing editor. She then worked with Anson County United Way for two campaign seasons.
She transitioned from a volunteer helping with the Barn Blast and other tasks to becoming an employee with the Partnership. Growing up in Anson County and working with the United Way gave her the opportunity to see some of the work the Partnership did before she volunteered or sought employment with the Partnership.
Goins said that she does not plan to make any “significant changes” to the Barn Blast, though there have been other changes.
In the last few months, the Partnership has hired three new employees: Karen Gerald, the childcare service coordinator, Alexandria Harrington, the early childhood resource center coordinator, and Carmen Salmon, office manager. Bonnie Morgan, the Partnerhip’s community outreach and literacy coordinator, has been with the Partnership for 17 years.
Goins said that despite having an almost all-new staff, the change hasn’t been as difficult as it could be.
“Elaine and the board worked hard to make sure this goes smoothly and have helped guide it,” she said. “The board has been very supportive through this big transition.”
Goals
The Partnership has already met one of its recent goals: to have at least 5,000 people sign up for ReadyRosie, a program that allows parents, grandparents, caretakers or others to watch short videos to learn ways to teach young children.
Although that program has already experienced success, Goins said she hopes it continues to grow and draw more Anson County users.
She also wants to see the county add a visitation program for parents. The Partnership tried to get the Nurse-Family Partnership, where a nurse would visit families who needed extra support, but the program was prohibitively expensive since a registered nurse would have to be hired.
In its place, Goins wants to add Parents as Teachers, a program that had “great success” in the past but was canceled due to a lack of funding. The Partnership is currently working with a grant writer in the hopes of finding funding for the program, which Goins said she views as an “immediate need” in the county.
Parent educators would visit the homes of parents who need support, such as teen moms, working with the children and helping the parents learn how to interact with and care for their baby.
The program would start with 15 to 20 families for children up to 5 years old, with parent educators visiting the families every two weeks to every month as needed.
Goins said that she feels some programs the Partnership offers are underutilized. Car seat safety checks and the Partnerhip’s resources center were two she hopes to see used more often. Parents can call and make appointments to have trained employees evaluate the safety of their installed car seats. And for $5 per year, caretakers can use the Partnership’s resource room as a library, checking out books, games, science kits, outdoor toys and more, all year long for children up to age five.
Currently, childcare providers tend to use the program a good deal but the larger community doesn’t use it, Goins said. Items can be checked out for two weeks, though extensions can be granted if the parent calls in asking for a renewal.
Her long-term goal is to increase “family engagement.”
To reach parents, Goins said the Partnership will need to increase its usage of social media and technology, linking families with information through articles shared online.
Goins said she plans to “maintain” the current format of Barn Blast, adding that raising “$70,000 in a tier one county is a huge amount.”
The event funds many of the Partnership’s programs and takes around 100 volunteers each year to host, Goins said.
“If we can maintain that level, I don’t think anyone would be more excited,” Goins said. “It’s grown past our expectations.” She cited individual donors — South Piedmont Community College, Poisson, Poisson and Bower and Uwharrie Bank — as key supporters.
“It’s all about collaboration,” Goins said. “It takes a village to raise a child.”
Reach reporter Imari Scarbrough at 704-994-5471 and follow her on Twitter @ImariScarbrough.