Our beginnings

In 1961, As part of the YWCA , The Services Council opened its doors and began work directly within the African American community. Josie Hazel, a social worker and community leader, became its first Executive Director. The Services Council remained a community organization and took over the Community Christian Child Care Center, which had previously been run by the YWCA before their closure. Ms. Hazel, an educator, was well known in Aiken as a child and family advocate and was instrumental in the creation of the Smith-Hazel Center on the north side of Aiken. By the time she was leading The Services Council, she already had a reputation as an “Angel” among Northside residents.

Although the Community Christian Child Care Center was a welcome part of Aiken, it would take only a few more years for Children’s Place, Inc. to take its place and provide even more assistance to our community members.

Getting our footing

Ann and Pat Donovan opened The Child Care Center Inc. as an independent local non-profit charity, a step closer to the Children’s Place, Inc. we know today.

The Services Council and its Child Care Center Inc. were supported by the First Presbyterian Church and the United Methodist Church, as well as individual donations, fundraisers, and, later, the United Way of Aiken County. Parents were now able to have childcare services based on their ability to pay. Shortly after opening, the center became fully integrated, serving both African American and white families in the area. 

From 1968 to 1970 the children and families were served in a space donated by the Second Baptist Church. 

In 1970, the Immanuel Presbyterian Church was moved to its current site on the corner of Barnwell Ave and Fairfield Street and renovated by Savannah River Site Employees lead by Buck Scherfius, Dupont Field Project Manager for Construction. This same building now serves as the home of Children’s Place, Inc.

HElping those who need it most

Ann Suich became aware of a new need within the community after discovering that a child in the center had suffered from traumatic childhood experiences. She lead the Board of Directors of the Services Council to begin The Children’s Place Treatment Center for Abused Children in 1982, the first of its kind in the state. Ann held the director role for the center and treatment center for several years.

In 1991, all of our organization's programs were housed in the same location, on the corner of Fairfield Street and Barnwell Avenue, and the childcare center and treatment center merged. In the late '90s, Children's Place continued to strengthen its clinical programs to include multiple treatment and counseling services for children and families. Programs included treatment groups, parent skill training, and individual and family therapy.

Looking Toward the Future

Today, Children’s Place, Inc. serves children and their families with our Therapeutic Child Care, Community-Based Prevention Services, Strengthening Families, and Beds for Babies programs under the continued leadership of our Executive Director, Peggy Ford. We hold annual fundraisers within the community, like our Celebrity Waiter Night and Guardian Angel programs, to help fund our programs and provide as much care as possible to those who need it most in our community. Our mission — to protect, heal, and strengthen children and families from the impact of trauma in their lives through education, treatment, and prevention services — is always at the forefront of everything we do.   

Our current goal is to relocate to a larger facility, so we can intervene earlier and permanently heal emotional scars and behavioral problems that the children in our community suffer from.

If you would like to learn more about Children’s Place or how you can help us as we work to change high risk to high hope, please feel free to reach out! We are always happy to share our mission with more people in our community and beyond.