The Meyer Center for Special Children in Greenville has spent 70 years providing education and therapy to children with disabilities.
To provide these critical services, the nonprofit relies on fundraising which covers 46% of the organization’s annual budget. The Meyer Center’s second-largest annual fundraiser is the Holiday Luncheon.
The 25th annual Holiday Luncheon presented by United Community will be held Dec. 4 at the Greenville Convention Center.
Around 1,000 people are expected to attend the luncheon, which will feature a silent auction with close to 300 items up for bid. The Meyer Center aims to raise $410,000 at this year’s event.
Kathy Higgins, the founder of the Meyer Center’s Holiday Luncheon, said the event has raised $4.2 million for the school over the past 25 years.
“This money has been used to support therapy sessions for students, add classrooms and aids, purchase specialized equipment for classroom learning, provide scholarships, enhance a school library, and help renovate the school,” she said.
Impactful services
The Holiday Luncheon will celebrate its 25th anniversary by highlighting the Meyer Center’s impact on students and families over the last seven decades. The school, located at 1132 Rutherford Road, provides speech, occupational and physical therapy to children with disabilities in a preschool environment.
Reagin Foster, a Meyer Center parent, will speak at the event, sharing how the school has helped her daughter Brooks over the past two years.
“She loved it from day one,” Reagin Foster said. “She loved circle time, and I don’t think I realized how much she needed to have other kids that are also kind of on her level in that way. She had friends for the first time other than her sisters and her siblings.”
Brooks Foster was diagnosed with the rare condition Pontine Tegmental Cap Dysplasia when she was 16 months old. This genetic syndrome has caused her to be nonverbal, partially deaf and blind, and unable to walk on her own.
Reagin Foster said the school’s therapists have also helped Brooks learn new abilities and communication skills. For example, Brooks can now type her name on a computer.
“The Meyer Center has become such a special place for us, and it’s become a passion for our family because I see the service that it provides to our community,” Foster said.
For more information on the Meyer Center’s 2024 Holiday Luncheon, visit meyercenter.org/holiday-luncheon.
Then vs. now
The first Meyer Center Ladies Luncheon was held in 1999 at the Hilton Hotel in Greenville. Around 350 women attended the event, which raised $35,000 for the nonprofit. A silent auction was held with 50 items.
In 2023, nearly 1,000 people attended the Meyer Center Holiday Luncheon at the Greenville Convention Center. The event included a silent auction with 315 items. In total, the luncheon raised $397,400 for the nonprofit.
Did you know?
The Meyer Center was founded by Dr. Leslie Meyer in 1954.
