THE CHILDREN’S CENTER: Supporting Local Children
This article was originally published by Plantation Living: A Newsletter for the Residents of Hilton Head Plantation
On Hilton Head Island, a quiet cornerstone of our community has been shaping young lives for nearly six decades. Founded in 1967, The Children’s Center (TCC) is the second-oldest nonprofit on the island, established to meet the essential childcare needs of working families. That mission endures today: providing affordable, accessible, high-quality early childhood education and care to families across the Lowcountry.
Each year, TCC serves more than 120 families, with 110 children enrolled from as young as six weeks through age eight, making it one of only two centers in the area caring for infants. More than two-thirds of these families are low-income, 67 percent are families of color, and 85 percent receive tuition assistance through state support or TCC’s sliding-scale fee structure, the only one of its kind among nonprofit providers on the island.
The results speak for themselves. Children who graduate from TCC achieve mastery of more than 90 percent of kindergarten readiness skills, compared with just 36 percent countywide. Guided by South Carolina Early Learning Standards, programs nurture the whole child, social-emotional development, language and literacy, math, motor skills, and cognitive growth, all within a safe, supportive environment where children feel secure enough to thrive.
The need has never been greater. Over 30 children under age three currently sit on TCC’s waitlist, and recent changes to state childcare funding in December 2025 caused more than half of TCC families to lose previously approved support, facing sudden weekly tuition increases of up to $170. For households already stretched thin, these shifts threaten both employment stability and access to care.
This is where neighbors can make a difference. Hilton Head Plantation residents can help in three meaningful ways: by making a financial contribution of any size to fund tuition assistance, classroom materials, and staff development; by spreading the word through personal networks and social media (@thechildrenscentersc on Facebook and Instagram); or by volunteering time to read with children, assist teachers, or support events.
