Friends of Special Children 501(c)3 | P.O. Box 5718, Chattanooga, TN. 37406
Our Mission & Work
FRIENDS OF SPECIAL CHILDREN (FOSC) works to improve the lives of special needs children of all ages in our community. We are passionate about our work and motivated by the belief that all children deserve the opportunity to explore and learn to their fullest potential.
With over 25 enthusiastic volunteers, the group has proudly served children of all ages with special needs in and around Chattanooga since 2001. FOSC has hosted the annual ABC, All aBout Children Event for the past 17 years to benefit Signal Centers, whose mission is to strengthen children, adults and families through services focusing on disabilities, early childhood education, and self-sufficiency.
In addition, FOSC proudly supports Families Forward, which supports expectant mothers; Chatter Camp, Signal Centers’ summer camp for non-verbal children; SPARC, Chattanooga's chapter of Disabled Sports and Marty’s Center, an early learning center for children with hearing impairments.
Past ABC EVENTS
We couldn't accomplish our goals without the help and support of our generous donors, sponsors, and volunteers. Because of you, the ABC, All aBout Children Event has raised over $2 million for the children at Signal Centers.
- 2006 1st Annual ABC Event. Raised funds for computer interactive learning tools: Intellitool Suite software, devices, hardware, and Internet server upgrades.
- 2007 2nd Annual ABC Event, "Build a Better Classroom." Funds raised provided for state-of-the-art classrooms conducive to assistive therapies: speech, language, hearing, vision, and more.
- 2008 3rd Annual ABC Event, "Early Intervention = Early Education.” Chaired by Bill and Nancy Underwood, the event raised funds to establish an endowment fund to bring the youngest children to Signal Centers. Additional funding was used to support school readiness intervention programming.
- 2009 4th Annual ABC Event. Chaired by Chet and Janet Logan, the ABC project raised funds to construct an all-inclusive playground at Signal Centers, including the Chattem amphitheater, riding tracks, swings, slides, and landscaping.
- 2010 5th Annual ABC Event, "All aBout the Babies.” Chaired by Alfredia Rhodes and Dawn Shea. In honor of Maxine Alper, ABC funds were raised to build a new “babies walk,” providing easy access to the playground from the building and remodeling the baby's nurseries.
- 2011 6th Annual ABC Event, “All aBout Our Children.” Chaired by Friends of Special Children, the project raised funds to ensure babies, toddlers, and preschoolers have equal access to the highest quality early childhood education experience possible.
- 2012 7th Annual ABC Event, "Keep the Children Warm." Chaired by Jim and Marion Steffner, funds were raised to replace all the school windows with new energy-efficient windows allowing Signal Centers to be part of a green community and make more efficient use of natural resources.
- 2013 8th Annual ABC Event, "Rain or Shine, It’s Playtime." Chaired by Will and Katherine Sutton, phase one fundraising began to build an indoor recreational center adjacent to the Friends Playground.
- 2014 9th Annual ABC Event, “Rain or Shine, It’s Playtime!" This year completed the 2nd phase of funding for the Maxine Block Alper, Friends of Special Children Recreation Center for the children at Signal Centers. This new facility allows for a large indoor play area and a place for special events.
- 2015 10th Annual ABC Event, "Moving on Up...and down." Chaired by Janet and Mark Neighbors, funds were raised to install an elevator. This enabled children in wheelchairs easy access to the second floor.
- 2016 11th Annual ABC Event, “Back to the Future." Chaired by Barbie Standefer and Jack Riggar, funds were raised for upgrades to the classroom Intellitools and interactive learning software, as well as upgrades to hardware and Internet security. Excess funds were used to purchase a music system for the baby playground.
- 2017 12th Annual ABC Event, “Keep the Children Safer." Chaired by Cynthia Hall and Rosemarie Hill, funds were raised for safety and security for the campus and classrooms, including new fencing, video cameras, and the installation of two classroom bathrooms.
- 2018 13th Annual ABC Event, “Point and Paint the Schoolhouse." Chaired by Marc Barclay and Bill Lloyd, funds were raised to repair the entire facade of Signal Centers facility. Workers repaired and repointed the brick, repaired window sills and frames, replaced stone cladding, and painted the entire exterior. FOSC Sponsored one complete façade kicking off the project.
- 2019 14th Annual ABC Event, "Children’s Gateway." Chaired by Russ and Tracie Blakey, funds were raised to create a new, safer traffic environment and added parking and a new secure and gated entrance. The school hallways, walls, and floors were also repaired and repainted.
- 2020 15th Annual ABC (Virtual) Event "Helping Our Children Thrive." Chaired by Jim and Susan Reynolds. Due to the Pandemic, the 2020 ABC event went virtual, raising funds for the children's programming. In addition, funds were used to increase the value of Friend's Endowed Scholarship fund and helped Signal Centers assist families remotely.
- 2021, 16th Annual ABC Event, Red Rover, Red Rover, Let's do the Playground Over. Chaired by Mike & Judy St Charles, funds were raised to improve and repair the children's playground. Replaced the poured-in-place surface for the main playground, expanded the size of the baby Music & Art playground, installed sail-shade structures, replaced swings, and installed several landscape items. These improvements will ensure the children have a safe and creative outdoor space to play, learn and grow into the future.
- 2022 17th Annual ABC Event, "Sprinkle the Children with Love!" Chaired by Sue & Lee Culpepper, funds raised provided for the installation of Automatic fire sprinklers throughout Signal Centers' main building.
- 2023 18th Annual ABC Event, "Follow the Yellow Brick Road," Chaired by Tom & Darlene Glenn, will take place on Oct 5th. Please join us!