A Taste of Milk & Honey
My vision for The Craddock Center is clear and firm: that we keep our pledge, in some way, every day, to enrich lives through service. This means that all who work in and through the Center, paid and volunteer, infuse every act and word with the grace of God. This is achieved not by an abundance of religious talk but by being gracious as God is. To be gracious is to welcome all without distinction. Some have and some do not; we make no distinction. Some give and some receive; we make no distinction. Some have been here for generations and some arrived yesterday; we make no distinction. Some are young and some are old; we make no distinction. And every one of us has been, is, or will be a minority person, so who would presume to make distinctions?
To build such a community is difficult but not impossible. It takes time and effort to build trust so that those who have known only isolation or rejection will accept hospitality. Some are so needy that they have not realized what or how much they have to give others. A few come running but many must be sought, and none are to be forgotten.
The program of the Center is determined by need. In some cases, it may begin with food, clothing, or housing, but that is only the beginning. There is no commandment, “Thou shalt barely get by.” Every life needs enrichment and that means classes in health care, job training, family economics, child-rearing. It means music and art and storytelling. It means getting together to listen to each other’s stories and to enjoy one another. It means to include the confined, by visits, cards, calls, and gifts. It is to say, “This is a good place to live, to raise a family, to build friendships, to grow old, and to die.” This is my vision, and to it I give my life.
From Dr. Fred Craddock, February 2004
From the Executive Director
If you could close the school readiness gap, would you?
Of course you would! You help us do this with the support you provide through your monetary gifts, volunteering, and donations of books and supplies needed for our programs.
Just a reminder:
- Every year 40% of children go into Kindergarten 1 to 3 years behind.
- Most students who start behind stay behind, year after year.
- Students who start Kindergarten below grade level form the largest cohort of dropouts (usually by the 10th grade), and they have less than a 2% chance of attending post high school education.
- From birth to age 5, a child learns at a speed unmatched for the rest of their life.
The Craddock Center has specially designed its Children’s Enrichment Program, based on research for optimal learning, to best prepare the children we serve for Kindergarten.
In addition, Smart Babies, one of our newest programs, is provided by The Craddock Center to help parents of children, ages 0-5, to be their child’s best first teacher. We teach the parents so that they can teach their children to help prepare them for kindergarten.
In November 2004 Dr. Fred Craddock, the founder of The Craddock Center wrote “We [The Craddock Center] are about the business of enriching lives, of lifting self-esteem, of instilling a sense of self-worth, of effecting socialization so that each child can play and study and grow as an equal to other children.”
Because of you, The Craddock Center is nearing a major milestone of serving the children and families of southern Appalachia for 25 years! Please consider how you will help us for the next 25 years. Thank You!
Celebrating 25 Years!
If you recently passed our sign on Hwy 515 in Cherry Log, you probably noticed an addition. In May we kicked off our yearlong 25th Anniversary Celebration!
In June 2001, The Craddock Center responded to a need and began an innovative approach to help Pre-K and Head Start children in southern Appalachia prepare for kindergarten. Today we have the Children’s Enrichment Program, Read Across America Day, Summer Send Off, the Living Room, Craddock Cares, and our newest program, Smart Babies.
We are excited about our yearlong celebration which will culminate with our 25th Anniversary Gala on Saturday, June 13, 2026, at The Craddock Center. PLEASE SAVE THE DATE!!!
More information will come to you via our newsletter, email, and social media.
Lead Gilmer Pitch Competition
Each year, Lead Gilmer sponsors a “Pitch Competition” for the Senior Class at Gilmer High School. The teams of three or four students select a need in our community and plan for a “Shark Tank” type presentation in May where they compete with other teams for $900 in scholarship money which the winning team divides.
It is the hope that the participants will develop skills in and learn the value of teamwork, organization, time management, research, presentation & public speaking.
On of the teams, comprised of Miley, Cindy, and Yovani, was working on an idea to create a bookmobile they called the ‘Book Buffet,’ and their slogan was all ‘All the books you can read!’ With their focus being on literacy, Kirk Cameron, Executive Director of The Craddock Center, was asked to be their mentor/coach.
The competition took place on May 2, 2025, and the teams “pitched” to business leaders from the Gilmer County area. They were scored on the uniqueness and need of the product or service, the quality of the presentation and business plan, and the perceived value in the eye of the judges…would they invest in it?
The Craddock Center is excited to report that the ‘Book Buffet’ team won the competition. One of the observers reported, “They were so passionate about the idea. They were well-prepared and had a thought-out plan and business model.”
The Craddock Center awarded Miley, Cindy, and Yovani an additional $200 each.
Start Your Engines…It Really Happened This Year!!
The Craddock Center was excited to join the ranks of many other non-profits and businesses in the Blue Ridge area for the 2025 Blue Ridge Soap Box Derby on April 26th.
Our beautiful car was built by Brian Higgins and the Dr. Seuss graphics for the car were designed by Michael Kilpatrick.
Sylas Rommer was our driver for the age 7-12 category.
The Blue Ridge Soap Box Derby held its inaugural race in April 2019. It was created to give our local community, especially our youth, an exciting activity that can be done as a family. The Derby teaches the next generation all of the aspects of the “STEAM” program: science, technology, engineering, art, and math. In 2023, the Derby had seventy drivers and over fifty cars.
Smart Babies – How We Work with Parents
Smart Babies is a program provided by The Craddock Center that is designed to help parents of children, ages 0-5, to be their child’s best first teacher. We use the curriculum, Ready for Kindergarten. Parents attend three 90-minute workshops per age level and go home with lots of knowledge, 3-4 age-appropriate toys and 3-5 age-appropriate books for their children. This is at no cost to the participants!
The curriculum focuses on three areas: Language and Literacy, Math and Reasoning, and Social and Emotional Learning. I would like to tell you more about how we work with parents and demonstrate to them the importance of developing language skills during these early years.
First, parents need to talk to and with their children. Eye to eye and face to face. Even when they are babies! The parents need to talk about anything and everything during the day. The children need to hear words, words, words! We teach the parents to take turns: Talk, Pause, Listen, Respond. Babies try so hard to talk before they can form words. This needs to be acknowledged. We encourage parents to talk about the food they are preparing and serving, things around the house, dressing the child, items in the grocery store, and anything and everything about everyday life. Children process these words at every age, but the brain growth in the first five years is at a rate never to be matched again. It is time that cannot be wasted. We teach the parents nursery rhymes, finger plays, and how to talk about the toys with the children.
Secondly, parents need to read to their children each and every day. This promotes a special bond between parent and child and shows the child that reading can be fun. We start with board books for the little ones. Sometimes the parents will say that their baby just wants to chew on the book. Our response: let them, but pick a different book to read. Others will tell us they won’t sit still. Then, try reading to them when they are in a highchair, or when they’re getting sleepy. Parents can put their finger under the next page so the baby can easily turn the page. We also emphasize that books should be read slowly. Parents should talk with their children about the pictures. The classic, Good Night Moon by Margaret Wise Brown provides lots of opportunities to discuss colors, day and night, and so many other concepts. It’s a very cozy book to read while curled up with a baby or child. Take a look at Silly Sally by Audrey Wood. The pictures are delightful for any age. The words are just plain fun. It has rhyming words, opposites, repetitive sounds, and so much more. It’s a fun book to act out. The same book can be used in different ways at different ages. A four-year-old can retell the story. A five-year-old will soon have it memorized!
We have a few parents that do not read English and some that do not read any language. We encourage those parents to talk about the pictures or to read to the babies and toddlers in their native language. If they have older brothers and sisters who are fluent in English, they can read the same books in English to their younger siblings. Children easily learn both languages when very young.
What I’ve shared is just a small fraction of what we teach. We encourage all of the parents to share their experiences and ideas. They have so much to teach each other. Our workshops are fun! We, as facilitators, always learn something new also. Together, we can help these children be ready to enjoy a positive school experience and a better future.
Bev Cook, Smart Babies Coordinator
Summer Send Off 2025
On May 14th, The Craddock Center celebrated ’Summer Send Off 2025’. Each of our 1,178 children received a bag of goodies as their pre-K and Head Start programs ended for the Summer. Each child received two brand-new books, including a ‘Golden Classic’ book, a book reading log to record the books they read during the Summer, stickers, a bookmark to color, and arts & crafts supplies needed to make a couple of hand puppets.
The goal of this program to provide our children an opportunity to continue learning even as their formal learning programs suspend for the Summer. Pre-k literacy gains can be easily lost over the summer, especially by emerging readers who are still building foundational literacy skills. The Summer reading achievement gap between pre-K and kindergarten can be closed by a child reading 4-5 books during the Summer.
Thanks to the many donors who responded to our ‘Amazon wish list’ and provided the books and supplies needed for the goodie bags! Thanks to the volunteers: Sue Hriljac, Judy Pfingsten, Elders Hogan, Elder Hildreth, Elder Pyper, and Elder Augustine for packing the bags!
Also, thanks to the following volunteers for delivering the bags to the children: Beth Roberts, Cathy Cavagnaro, Carolyn Lakes, and Joe Cantwell!
Summer Send Off Feedback
“Thank you so much for the book packages. The students love them!”
Katrina Romaella, Preschool Teacher, Peachtree Elementary
“Thank you very much for everything this year you guys have done!!”
April DeHart, Director, Andrews Head Start
“Thank you for all you do for Union County Primary Pre-K!!”
Holly Cook, Director, Union County Pre-K
Celebrating Our Volunteers!!
National Volunteer Week is celebrated annually during the third week of April and this year it was observed from April 20 to 26. This week-long celebration placed a spotlight on our volunteers and their invaluable seeds of kindness that are bettering our community. This celebration, which was established in 1974, provides the perfect opportunity to say thank you. It also challenges us to do better and look for ways to be active participants to positively impact our local communities.
The power to transform lives and our community is visible at every turn, and the National Volunteer Week raises awareness about the need to beef up volunteer efforts and preaches the gratifying sense of fulfillment derived through acts of volunteerism.
Volunteers are needed at The Craddock Center in the following areas:
- Office Work (Books, mailings, etc.)
- Packing and Delivering (Helping with the packing and delivering of books, hats, wooden toys to the children)
- The Living Room (Organizing the furniture and household goods)
- Craddock Cares (making kits to be provided to first responders and other non-profits)
- Building and Lawn Maintenance (Cleaning gutters, mowing grass, pruning trees and bushes, upkeep of driveway and buildings)
- Special Events (Cooking, cleaning, passing out information, decorating, etc.)
- Hats and Wooden Toys (Make hand-knitted hats and wooden toys)
Since August 1, 2024, we have had 300 volunteer encounters, totaling 2,230 hours. 16 volunteers served at The Craddock Center for the first time.
THANK YOU FOR ALL YOU DO TO ENRICH OUR COMMUNITY!!