History Timeline
1970 - Program started by two Volunteers In Service To America (VISTA) in St Peter’s Lutheran Church basement
1974 - Main part of current building built through city block grant matching funds, several grants, and community support in response to church closing and program growth
1984 - Annex built to accommodate program expansion
2007 - Program on verge of closing due to financial struggles and supervisory transitions---community rallied support and preserved program
2008 - Local flooding caused Center to close one week and enrollment reduced from 53 to 39
2009-2010 - Moving forward through grants, great community support, and grit!
August 2010 - celebrated 40th anniversary and service to thousands of children…..and thousands more to come!
Renovation of 37 year old building completed in ---focus to make it sustainable another 40 years, "green," and more energy efficient!
Where We Are Today
- Provide services for 64 children ages 18 months through 10 years of multi-cultural, multi-ability levels (licensed for 64 on premises)
- Service for multiple generations of families
- An ongoing family source as a preschool, child care and community resource & referral
- Many children served eligible for subsidization (scholarships through United Way and Cedar Valley Promise, enrollment through Department of Human Services, Promise Jobs, etc.)
- Nurturing, consistent staff
- Multiple community collaborations and support for services (screenings, volunteers, program additions---CCR&R, DHS, AEA-267, United Way, Cedar Valley Promise, First Children’s Finance, etc.)
- Program special activities through P.E.T.-P.A.L.S., Traveling Tales, Wartburg music therapy program, Pillars of Character puppet shows, the Waste Track science program, and guest visitors
- Extensive volunteer collaborations---John Deere, Board, families, local churches, Boy Scouts Eagle project, UNI students
- Excellent outdoor learning environment (Nature Explorer Certified Classroom).
Where We Are Going
- Expansion of community collaborations
- Additional staff training
- New programming in science, art, and Spanish
What We Need
- Scholarship resources
- Resources for building renovation
- Community involvement
Find out how you can help us achieve our goals on our Fundraising page.
Why It's Important
- Provides child care and preschool services for families as they go to school or work
- Supports recent brain research in providing quality learning experiences for young children
- Provides resource and referral information
- Impacts local economy through provision of stable workforce with consistent, reliable child care as well as economic growth as new families consider the Cedar Valley as home