"Strong Families = Strong Communities"

 Budd Bell, who founded Kids Incorporated of the Big Bend in 1972 and was a passionate advocate of children and  women, the elderly, the mentally ill and the disadvantaged, was inducted into the Florida Women's Hall of Fame  on Tuesday, March 6, 2012.  

Budd pioneered subsidized child care legislation in Florida, which resulted in the funding of early learning programs across the state and provided low income working parents with access to child care.  She founded Kids Incorporated of the Big Bend in the basement of First Presbyterian Church in Tallahassee, offering quality child care to children of parents attending college or working. 

Today, Kids Incorporated serves at-risk children and their families in Leon, Madison and Jefferson counties through the Early Head Start program, providing comprehensive early education & care, health, nutrition, disability and family support services to families with children from birth to age 4 and pregnant women.  Budd's legacy lives on in many ways...one of which we see daily in the classrooms of our Early Head Start centers as we watch the faces of the infants and toddlers and those of their family members as children and their parents grow and learn!  Budd's daughter, Bonnie, is pictured above, accepting the award on behalf of her late mother.  The award was presented by Governor Rick Scott. 

The Budd Bell Early Learning Endowment Fund for Kids Incorporated has been established at the Community Foundation of N. Florida so that Budd's legacy may live on in the years ahead.