The Grafton School Foundation Receives Generous Donation from 7×24 Exchange DC Chapter Supporting Grafton’s Early Intervention Program
May is Early Intervention Month – a critical time to celebrate the foundational support that helps children with developmental challenges thrive. Recently, Grafton’s Early Intervention program, Infant & Toddler Connection of Shenandoah Valley, received a $10,000 boost thanks to the extraordinary generosity of the 7×24 Exchange DC Chapter, making this year’s celebration even brighter.
This incredible donation, made to our newly revived Grafton School Foundation, will directly support our Early Intervention program and their life-changing work with infants, toddlers, and their families across six different localities across the Shenandoah Valley.
The Grafton School Foundation’s resurgence is led by one of Grafton’s board members, Kevin Callanan. Callanan, Board Chair of the Foundation, recognized a vital opportunity to leverage his deep fundraising expertise to help strengthen Grafton’s future. By rebuilding this philanthropic pillar, he is helping to ensure Grafton’s mission has the resources it needs to flourish today and for years to come.
“While serving on the Board of Directors, I saw a need to help re-build the Foundation because Grafton School serves a noble mission. If I can help Grafton to continue that, I count that as a win,” Callanan excitedly shared.
The purpose of the Grafton School Foundation is to bring in charitable donations to help with two goals in mind: Lighten the load of Grafton today and help strengthen Grafton’s future.
Charitable gifts will go to the following efforts, based on the donor’s intent: Where It’s Needed Most, Day School, Early Intervention, Residential Care for Children, Adult Education, Adult Life Skills, Client Emergency Fund, Christmas Fund, Music Therapy, and Staff Education & Internships.
The 7×24 DC Chapter Board of Directors were thrilled to designate their most recent donation to our Early Intervention program after learning about the positive impact they are making on our community’s youngest learners.
Our Early Intervention team was ecstatic to receive this incredible donation. Struck by the extraordinary generosity, Sharlene Stowers, Director of Early Intervention, was moved to share this message of gratitude of what they plan to do with the funds.
“May is Early Intervention Month, and the Infant and Toddler Connection of Shenandoah Valley (ITC-SV) deeply appreciates this generous donation! As a grant-funded program, every dollar directly empowers us to serve local children and families. This funding will expand our program capacity in four vital areas: delivering trauma-informed care training to reduce daycare expulsions, supporting staff in obtaining Infant Mental Health Endorsements, hosting family engagement events focused on social-emotional growth, and launching an early literacy initiative to gift books to children entering and graduating from our program. Thank you, 7×24 Exchange DC Chapter, for helping us maximize our community impact!”
This marks 7×24 Exchange DC Chapter’s third donation to Grafton – including both monetary and in-kind donations to support our individuals, with contributions totaling over $30,000. Some of their thoughtful donations have included comforters, bed linens, and Lego sets for our individuals in Berryville and Winchester.
Grafton is so incredibly grateful for the endless support from the 7×24 team. We feel very lucky to have donors who understand and deeply care about our mission.
Whether it’s through the Client Emergency Fund or to a specific program, every donation to the Grafton School Foundation “lightens the load” for today and strengthens the future for tomorrow.
Ready to make an impact? Contact our Foundation Board Chair, Kevin Callanan, at kevincallanan@grafton.org to learn how you can support our mission.