KELCURT Foundation

If you have never been to Soddy-Daisy, Tennessee, you are missing the beautiful sunsets, lake, and trails through our finger mountains of the Appalachians. Located just 18 miles north of downtown Chattanooga, our city is tucked away from the crowds, events, and bustle.

However, like most small towns, there are needs that government simply can’t address.

Our citizens used to enjoy the amenities that our downtown library would provide until budget concerns cut off free non-resident access to the city’s library system.

Local small business owners Curtis Cecil and Kelly Flemings realized that the issue wasn’t just our residents being forced to pay $50-$100 a year to gain access to the library, but the library system was too far away for most of them to visit. Faced with a lack of adequate transportation, no bus service, and fixed incomes, residents were choosing food over library cards. Curtis and Kelly knew they could do something.

On January 28th, 2018 these two formed KELCURT Foundation. They immediately established a free library for everyone in the small town and began an adventure to help uplift their neighbors. The Soddy-Daisy Community Library was founded with just 4 books and a mission to bring self-sustainability to the residents through three major pillars: Agriculture (learning how to grow your own food in order to fight food poverty) , Community (creating a place where people feel comfortable meeting and exchanging ideas in order to fight depression and anxiety) and Education (lifting literacy throughout the area). They did this all free of charge.

Jump to 4 years later. Thanks to the support of our amazing community, this little library now contains over 23,000 items, including books, movies, puzzles, games, and bakeware. We have created a seed library where anyone can check out flowers, vegetables, and herbs to feed their families. We teach free workshops discussing growing food, sewing, quilting, jewelry making, and 20+ other topics. We have 10 computers and free internet access to connect patrons to the world. We team up with community partners to offer free “Movie and Dinner” nights every month and have established yearly city-wide literacy nights with free movies in the park events. We distribute trees, through the Tennessee Environmental Council, and help with city projects that make us all proud to live in Soddy-Daisy, TN. The SDCL partners with the YMCA Mobile fit program to feed our children a healthy lunch and breakfast to take home, every weekday during the summer breaks.

When Covid-19 began shutting down normal services, this library went into action to include more puzzles, curbside pickup, and full-boxed family meal distribution. And thanks to our cleaning protocols, we remain one of the few libraries across the country to remain open to our patrons during the entire pandemic.

This year we’ve introduced free period packs called “The Kit” to help end Period Poverty.

The Foundation has grown from one simple shelf to a 3000 sq. foot library with an outdoor agricultural center. Their impact started with just a few hundred people in our small city and, by 2021, had grown to impact over 16,000 individuals in six surrounding counties. The foundation does this with no tax monies or local/county support.

We are out of room and need your help to continue growing to serve the needs of our citizens!

We are raising $1 million in order to purchase the building at 10188 Dayton Pike (formerly the Family Dollar store). It has 9,200 square feet inside, allowing us to triple our available space. It sits on 1.2 acres and will grow our Agriculture Center by a projected 300%. We will also be able to host free outdoor movies and events on-site.

In addition to expanding all the sections, the library already provides, we will build two meeting rooms for classes and community use. Don’t worry, we are going to make sure that it is still the cozy, welcoming place the SDCL is known to be. There will be little nooks with comfy chairs and couches to curl up on. Additionally, there will be an outdoor seating area, and Curtis and Kelly have donated their fire-pit to have a nice relaxing outdoor space in the back.

The colors will be warm and inviting, and the lighting will be soothing. And of course, Orlando and Blade, our library cats, will be there to make sure that everyone is taken care of and never feels lonely or bored. We will post artist renderings as soon as possible.

The owner is asking for $850,000, and remodeling is budgeted at $150,000 for a total of $1,000,000. We know it sounds unattainable, but four years ago, the idea of a free library that was open to everyone seemed like a dream. The SDCL is more than just books, it is a community center, an event hub, an educational resource, and a family.

Will you please donate?

It is estimated, that if all 13,000 residents of Soddy-Daisy donated just $75 this month, we could make this goal. But we know that is a stretch for some. This is why we are asking Americans from all over this great country to help us build and create something special in our little city!

Thank you and blessings to you all.

For transparency, we are currently working with the building owners to quickly land this deal, but we understand reality and they may sell it before we can raise the funds. Thus all funds collected will be directed to obtaining a new building or land to build on to expand this library and community center.

Thank you!