The Children’s Haven Association (TCHA) is more than 70 years old! 

Our earliest documented history is the undated minutes of a board meeting wherein participants discussed payment of 1948 ad valorem taxes. An interesting note contained in the minutes is a recitation that rent in the amount of $41.60 was being collected on the building and property.  

Plans are underway to open to the public a gallery of former TCHA board members which will be a homage to leadership within East Austin during the years of segregation. Among the icons of East Austin history will be: 

T.C. Calhoun 
(1905 – 1990) 

principal of Kealing Junior High School and the 75th President of the Colored Teachers State Association of Texas 

Mrs. J.C. Kavanaugh 
(1885-1962) 

unknown vocation 

Mrs. Clara L. Dennis 
(1881-1954) 

teacher at the Deaf, Dumb, and Blind Institute For Colored Youth from 1932-1957, and professor at both the Samuel.. continue reading 

Mrs. J.B. Clark 

business woman/beauty shop owner (on 13th Street between Chicon and Salina Streets, behind Harlem theater); 

Mrs. Beulah J. Goins 
(1882-1962) 

TCHA President, teacher at Olive Street High School in Austin, Texas, and spouse of Rev. Joshua Van Buren Goins, Jr. (1879-1966),.. Continue Reading 

Murray M. Owens 
(1906-1997) 

owner, operator, and primary mechanic at the storied Owens Garage (Founded 1926) on E. 13th Street in East Austin. Owens operated the garage until 1991. 

Subsequent board membership 

Subsequent board membership, as indicated in minutes dated 1965-1966, named the following racially integrated leadership. An integrated board of director was novel for its time: 

Mrs. Willie Frazier 

Mrs. Urissa Violette Christian 
(1889-1975) 

businesswoman and owner of Crescent Institute (Founded 1931), a beauty school and dormitory located next to Hillside Pharmacy on East 11th Street.. Continue Reading 

Mr. Virgil C. Lott, Sr., Esq. 
(1968) 

Texas Law School’s first African American graduate who composed and oversaw the legal organization and acquisition of the organization’s 501(c)(3) status; 

Dr. Benjamin Fruchter 
(1914-2009) 

University of Texas, Department of Psychology; 

Dr. Jackson B. Reid 

Professor Emeritus, University of Texas Department of Educational Psychology. 

Mrs. M. Lewis 

Distinguished Emissaries 

These distinguished emissaries for disadvantaged and at-risk children negotiated unsuccessfully for property tax exemptions on the property. Nevertheless, they persevered and secured license in 1965 by the State Department of Public Welfare as an OEO Day Care Program. This program, operated out of the current facility, was recognized as a uniquely integrated nonprofit that was unassociated with any church or other association. 
More recent (1980 – present) board membership includes Alfred D. Dotson, Sr. (1977-2021) who also spearheaded fundraising and building expansion of another community center, the Conley-Guerrero Center. 

Other recent members of the board include 

  • Carrie Swisher 
  • Dr. Eric Miller, MD 
  • Dr. Michelle Miller, MD 
  • Cecile Banks 
  • Dr. Connie Williams 
  • Samuel Overton 
  • Vivian Renfro 
  • Lucille Crawford 
  • Sornie Deen 
  • Ron Dotson 
  • Robert Organ 
  • Jennifer Durst 
  • Patricia Calhoun 
  • Brynette Smith 
  • Thelma Calhoun 
  • Ima G. Runnells 
  • Ethelda Pleasant 
  • Robert Organ 
  • Cecile Banks 
  • Anthony and Felicia Dennis 
  • Marilynn Poole Webb, Esq. 

Support Our Cause 

Thanks to the generosity of people like you, we are able to change lives of those we serve. Donate now to be a part of that change. 

Give, and it will be given to you.
A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over,
will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use,
it will be measured to you.” – Luke 6:38 NIV