The Bob & Renee Parsons Foundation, headquartered in Scottsdale, has given $1 million to Child Crisis Arizona, whose mission is to provide children and youth in Arizona a safe environment, free from abuse and neglect, by creating strong and successful families.
The donation will support both the organization’s annual operational costs, as well as its highly anticipated Center for Child & Family Wellness. Currently under construction, this 38,000-square-foot, climate-friendly, net-zero campus will expand Child Crisis Arizona’s ability to serve more people and offer health, wellness, and educational opportunities to the community.
“Since 2015, Child Crisis Arizona has more than doubled in size and scope of services, experiencing unprecedented growth in our Early Education Services, which increased by 200%, and our shelter bed capacity, which increased by 177%,” says Torrie Taj, CEO of Child Crisis Arizona. “While this growth has drastically increased the number of children and families we serve, it has caused staff members and entire departments to become displaced and dispersed throughout the Valley to make space for additional classrooms and shelter beds as needed.”
The Bob & Renee Parsons Foundation offers support to nonprofit organizations successfully working to empower, educate, nurture, and nourish people during what is often the darkest time of their lives. Founded in 2012 by philanthropists and business leaders Bob and Renee Parsons to provide hope and life-changing assistance to the country’s most vulnerable populations, it offers critical funding at critical times to those in need.
According to Taj, the Center for Child & Family Wellness will centralize Child Crisis Arizona operations and become the new home to services for low-income children and families, including foster care and adoption services; family education; children’s counseling; health and wellness, including medical screenings and basic needs; centralized kitchen and food distribution; centralized administration and philanthropy; foster teen programs; art, dance, and music therapy; and volunteer and staff training. It will also allow for strategic collaborations with such organizations as Ballet Arizona, United Food Bank, Big Brothers Big Sisters, and Free Arts for Abused Children of Arizona.
“Child Crisis Arizona is often the go-to resource provider for children and families in need,” says Bob Parsons, co-founder, The Bob & Renee Parsons Foundation. “Their new state-of-the-art campus will continue to improve how we take care of vulnerable children and families, offering hope and support when families need it most.”
The two-story campus is on track to be completed in early 2024.