Who We Are
About Us
The Palmer Center Foundation, Inc. is organized exclusively for charitable purposes to improve the quality of life for persons with disabilities in Northeast Tennessee and Southwest Virginia by awarding grants and scholarships to meet individual, group, and/or community needs.
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Our History
1948Kingsport families organized to provide facilities and programs for the treatment and schooling of children with what was then termed “crippling disabilities.”
1949A building was secured for the provision of services at the Holston Ordnance Plant, and the facility began receiving children.
1951The Tennessee-Virginia Cerebral Palsy Center, Inc. was chartered.
1957The current Palmer Center building was constructed using funds provided through a special community fundraising effort conducted by the Community Chest and Easter Seals.
1965 Kingsport City Schools and others formally contracted with the Palmer Center to educate children with disabilities.
1975The United States Congress passed public law 94-142 which made the separate education of children with disabilities illegal. The contract between the Palmer Center and the city school system ended.
1976The Palmer Center became a part of Kingsport City Schools. Students with disabilities were integrated into the city’s schools. The Palmer Center building began to be used for a number of purposes. The Palmer Center Advisory Board, Unincorporated, was formed. The original members were Fred Kays, J. D. Wininger, Hope Burton, Jerry Dahill, Ross Kingdon, Holiday Smith.
1991The Palmer Center Advisory Board was re-chartered as the TN-VA Cerebral Palsy Center, Inc.
1992The organization’s name was again changed to the Palmer Center Foundation. The foundation was designated as a {501-C-(3)} organization.
2010The Palmer Center Foundation acquired dedicated office space in Kingsport's newly renovated V.O. Dobbins Center.