Day Nursery of Abilene has provided quality child care for children of working families with low-incomes for more than 30 years. Following is a timeline of the organization’s growth and accomplishments:
| 1973: |
The first child care facility opened on Ash Street to serve 25 children. Due to an immediate waiting list that number doubled to 50 within the first year. |
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| 1975: |
A second facility was needed and established in a church on Park Street in the Sears Park area to serve 75 children in the northwest area of the city. |
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| 1978: |
The need for a safe and stimulating environment for children of the working poor continued to escalate forcing the need for the creation of the third child care facility within five years. A facility opened in the Belmont Baptist Church building to serve 80 children on the south side of Abilene. This center was later moved to another church building acquired by Southern Hills on Vine Street in 1994. A capital campaign in 2004 led to securing a permanent site on the south side of Abilene for this center. It was constructed and opened in April 2006. |
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| 1982: |
The child care facilities served more than 200 children but the demand continued to escalate. The Ash Street Center was renovated to triple its capacity. In less than 10 years, the Day Nursery program experienced a substantial growth from one facility serving 25 children to three facilities. |
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| 1991: |
Day Nursery’s board of directors conducted its first capital campaign to construct a child care center for families working in the downtown Abilene area. In less than 20 years, Day Nursery’s centers were serving more than 300 children daily in three license facilities operating Monday through Friday from 7:30am to 6:00pm. |
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| 1992: |
Day Nursery’s Ash Street Center (first Day Nursery center) began the provision of night and weekend child care services. This service was moved to the downtown center when it opened for business in August 1993. |
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| 1993: |
Day Nursery opened its downtown center on Cedar Street where it continued the offering of child care services for an increasing number of parents working non-traditional hours. The hours of operation for children from birth through school age ranged from 6 a.m. to midnight, seven days a week. This was the first licensed facility in Abilene to offer this unique child care service. (The board made the decision in late 2006 to terminate these services as they are no longer economically feasible.) Founding executive director, Bea Ganson retired on December 31, 1993 after giving 21 years of dedicated service to the organization and community. |
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| 1998: |
70 families came close to losing their reliable child care source when Day Nursery unexpectedly lost the lease of one of the church facilities. As a result, the Day Nursery board of directors and administration determined that it was in the best interest of the families and children served by the program that Day Nursery owns the facilities in which it operates child care programs.
A grant from the Dodge Jones Foundation enabled Day Nursery to purchase a facility north of Cedar Street, which had become available for lease. An offer made to purchase the property was accepted and the additional Cedar Street facility (annex) was quickly renovated to temporarily relocate the Park Street Center. |
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| 1999: |
Funds were raised for a second capital campaign to construct a new facility in northwest Abilene on Sherry Lane. The $1.3 million goal was successfully achieved before the year ended. |
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| 2000: |
In October the Sherry Lane Center opened to serve families in northwest Abilene with a licensed capacity of 130 children. |
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| 2001: |
The original facility on Ash Street received a facelift inside and out, and the extended care (night and weekend) program moved to the Cedar Street annex (702 Cedar) in June. The facility’s license was combined with the downtown center’s license (as an annex) allowing 60 children to be served during night and weekend hours. |
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| 2004: |
A feasibility study led to a $1.9 million capital campaign to address a permanent south side child care facility, capital improvements for the other sites including the implementation of a technology plan and a maintenance endowment fund for the south side center. |
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| 2006: |
In April the new Vine Street Center opened on the south side of Abilene. A gym addition, finished in June, completed the project to address after school and summer care for school age children. Grants from the Community Foundation of Abilene, the City of Abilene (through its Community Development Block Grant) and funds from the Greathouse Charitable Trust provided funding for the gym addition. |
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| 2007: |
The board elected to phase out the extended care (night and weekend services) and moved the remaining program into the Cedar Street Center. All children were placed in alternate care in mid-January.
In May 2007 the Day Nursery of Abilene received the first, ever Award of Excellence by the Community Foundation of Abilene in recognition of its work in the community on behalf of families and children. An unrestricted grant accompanied the recognition.
The administration offices moved into the 702 Cedar annex in mid-summer following renovation of the building made possible through grant funding from the Shelton Family Foundation. The grant provided funding to expand the administration team to include a human resources staff person and a development assistant. |
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| 2008: |
Celebrate! 2008 event hosted by the board of directors and advisory committee commemorated the 35th anniversary of the Day Nursery of Abilene. Dian Graves Stai addressed an audience of 200+ guests during a luncheon to kick of the "sponsor-a-child" campaign to secure program funding for the next 35 years as the program has grown to accommodate 600 children being served in four-licensed facilities representing 400 families. The majority of families served are low-income.
United Way of Abilene, Vision Grant funding awarded to begin a School Readiness Integration (SRI) collaborative partnership between Abilene ISD, Region 14 Education Service Center and Day Nursery of Abilene (two sites) to prepare preschool age children for school. |
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| 2009: |
Day Nursery opened its second school readiness satellite classroom at the beginning of the school year. Cedar Street and now Ash Street participate in the collaborative partnership to prepare children for school. The United Way Vision Grant funds both classrooms. Its fourth employee was celebrated for achieving 30 years with the agency which has been in existence for just thirty-six years. Day Nursery advanced to the social-networking arena by joining Facebook and earned the Abilene Reporter-News Reader's Choice Award for "Best Child Care" for the second year in a row.
Day Nursery answered the call to raise matching funds to receive a challenge grant from the Shelton Family Foundation. This funding assisted with the financial impact to minimum wage for the agency from 2007-2009.
Day Nursery hosted its First Annual Putt "Fore" Children Miniature Golf Tournament fundraising event at PrimeTime Entertainment Center in October. The event raised significant funds for the agency earmarking it as a signature event for years to come.
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