Our Cause
Caring for our Community’s Children
The Saratoga County Children’s Committee is celebrating its 76th year of helping less fortunate children throughout Saratoga County. We are active year-round supporting children and teens through emergency situations as well as special requests that come to us from other local agencies such as Franklin Community Center, Lifeworks, Saratoga Mental Health, Saratoga Early Intervention, Social Services, school counselors and individual social workers. We are able to provide beds and bedding, seasonal clothing, shoes, boots, sports equipment, car seats, instrument rentals, toiletries, diapers, field trip money and other special requests to local children in need.
This year, we raised $52,800 from Saratoga Mom Prom which will be allocated to the following programs:
Our Campership Program grows each year. It allows children who normally wouldn’t be able to attend a camp during the summer the chance to participate in camps which includes Camp Saradac, YMCA summer camp and camps through Saratoga Mentoring just to name a few.
We have been expanding our Back-to-School Program each year, and we now provide backpacks, school supplies, calculators, clothing, shoes, and toiletries to more than 50 kids every September to help them begin the new year on a positive note. We also provide monetary donations to Saratoga Mentoring for their own back to school support programs.
Scholarships - Beginning in 2024, we will be awarding two scholarships at $5,000 each to 2 graduating seniors from different Saratoga County high schools. The candidates will be continuing their education in a field which will benefit children, there is a need for financial assistance, and who has met life’s challenges with a positive attitude. This is in addition to the two scholarships at $5,000 each from Saratoga Mom Prom.
Special Requests are received throughout the year from our participating agencies and schools for clothing and shoes, bedding, baby equipment, sports equipment, fees for music lessons, etc.
Finally, of course we continue to carry out The Empty Stocking Project. Because of its scope, Empty Stocking and SCCC are frequently thought of interchangeably. Through referrals from all local schools and ten other organizations including Wellspring, LifeWorks Community Action, Project Lift, and Social Services we provide gifts, clothes, toiletries and excitement to over 950 children and teens every holiday season. This would not be possible without help from our "friends" who sponsor the children. In addition we have generous "friends" who make monetary donations who assist us with supplementing the children's bags as needed and to allow us to fill last minute requests when we need to shop for children.