The group working on establishing a children’s center, similar to the Project Five summer day care camp, are making plans for establishing a year-round children’s center for the community.
The Day Care Center group is in the process of developing plans for a year-round children’s center for the community.
Since the group feels that community participation in the planning is essential, a dinner will be held Sunday, Dec. 13, in the basement of St. Roch’s Church at 4:00 p.m. for parents who have children between the ages of three and five and who are interested in planning and operating the children’s center.
At a previous meeting in October, concerned parents, interested community residents and volunteer Washington University students met to formulate plans for the children’s center.
Dana McRoberts, community developer for Project Five, talked about the center: “We are striving to develop the child’s independence. We want to help them attain strong, definite senses of self-identity and security.”
“We need the deep interest of parents, not just for cookies and pies, but for growth with their children. They have to know what we are doing and why we want them to carry it home. We regard the children as persons and want to help the parents learn to do the same.”
The group, in a series of meetings, has formulated the basic philosophy and objectives of the program which will be based on last summer’s highly successful Project Five program.
The group is now seeking funding and a location for the center.
Mr. McRoberts hopes to recruit volunteers from the community and Washington University to work with the coordinator. He explains, “This summer some of our best resources came from the neighborhood. We want the children to be able to say ‘I live here’ with reason and to know that their environment can provide endless knowledge and experience.”
The group is planning fund raising activities to take care of general operational expenses and is also working out a fee which will be formulated later with the parents who want to participate.
Originally published in The Paper, December 1970.
Read this article in the original newspaper issue.
Original source: SD_Times1970_12.pdf, printed page(s) 7.
