The Circle C Child Development Center - Personalized Austin Preschool

A longtime business presence in the Austin, TX, community, Gary Bradley created a number of area residential developments, including the Circle C Ranch. This groundbreaking suburban development encompasses schools, recreational facilities, and extensive hiking and biking opportunities in protected parkland. Gary Bradley also contributed to a first-of-its-kind child development center that benefits community members throughout Austin, TX. 

A private, nonprofit organization established in 1994 as part of the neighborhood’s master plan, the Circle C Child Development Center provides preschool children with family-centered education designed to meet age-specific needs. Children start in the full-time program as young as eight weeks old, with part-time offerings beginning at age two and continuing through age five.

Fully accredited by the National Association for the Education of Young Children, the Center emphasizes personalized attention and educational continuity. It has one of the lowest teacher turnover rates among preschool centers nationwide. The school values core principles such as building confidence, respect, and character in children and teaching them to develop a sense of wonder.

Riverbend’s Remembrance Gardens

 


Independent developer Gary Bradley has been active in his Austin, TX, community since the late 1970s, having donated the most parkland of any developer in central Texas history. One of Gary Bradley’s major accomplishments was his land donation to the pastor Dr. Gerald Mann, who built Riverbend Church on the property. From there, the two created an innovative cremation cemetery, Remembrance Gardens at Riverbend, which provides an innovative alternative to classical cemeteries by inviting a form of remembrance that does not require a traditional grave.

Located in Austin, TX, Remembrance Gardens is a gorgeous piece of land in and around the Riverbend Canyon. Its Memorial Pavilion is a sheltered area with traditional niches for urns and memorial walls designed for remembrance and quiet meditation. The Terrace Garden is a collection of pathways winding through the canyon, past waterfalls and quiet pools. The Rose Garden, overlooking the waterfalls, provides bench niches, memorial pavers, and ground interments for ashes.

The gardens provide an innovative alternative to classical cemeteries by inviting a form of remembrance that does not require a traditional grave.

Wildflower Center Celebrates Lady Bird Day

Gary Bradley’s notable contributions to charitable organizations include his support for the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center, located at the eastern border of Circle C Ranch in Austin, TX, the development on which he began construction in the early 1980s. The center, thanks to the generosity of contributors like Gary Bradley, has successfully called public attention to the necessity of conserving the beauty and research potential of the nation’s native plants for more than two decades.

The former First Lady worked with Oscar-winning actress Helen Hayes to start the center in 1982. Since then, its educational programs, its focus on preserving biodiversity, and its support for in-depth research have garnered it praise as a leading organization in its field.

Toward the end of July 2016, the center scheduled a special event to honor its cofounder. At Lady Bird Day, participants were invited to celebrate Mrs. Johnson’s legacy of stewardship that is set to long outlast her 2007 death.

The organizers of Lady Bird Day also offered information about the First Lady’s significant contributions to environmental legislation. The approximately 200 environmentally focused laws enacted during the tenure of Pres. Lyndon Baines Johnson in the mid-1960s included the Highway Beautification Act, whose major provisions remain in force.

The more light-hearted activities planned for Lady Bird Day included floral-themed crafts, a story program, and a creative writing component geared to participants of all ages.

Riverbend Church Continues Mann’s Legacy

More than 25 years ago, prominent Austin, TX, developer Gary Bradley donated 60 acres of land to assist Dr. Gerald Mann in expanding his small church. The gift marked the start of Riverbend Church’s rise to its place as a major congregation in the area. With Gary Bradley’s permission, Dr. Mann went on to expand the Austin, TX, church by selling the land and using the proceeds to purchase another site down the road. The church would go on to attract thousands of members and become a megachurch with a message available to millions through its television broadcasts.

Although Dr. Mann died late in 2015, Riverbend Church continues as a major force in the community. Its invitation to prospective congregants to come just as they are echoes Dr. Mann’s focus on accessibility to today’s people seeking a closer relationship with God. The church extends its outreach efforts in particular to people who feel battered and broken by the stresses of life. Its leadership strives to ensure that its values of diversity and inclusion translate into an atmosphere in which everyone can feel welcome.

Recent events at Riverbend Church include a school supply drive to help underserved children, a global leadership summit, and a congregational trip to the Holy Land.