Community Foundation Grant Aids Discovery Learning Center

by Contributor | October 13, 2017 7:00 am

OSWEGO, NY – Oswego County Opportunities recently received a $5,000 grant from the Community Foundation to assist low income families in the education of their young children. The grant will help fund OCO’s Discovery Learning Center and help fill a dire need for affordable child care for families in Oswego County.

Licensed by NYS Office of Children and Family Services, OCO’s Discovery Learning Center provides early education experiences for toddler, pre-k and school age children, including children with disabilities.

“This grant from the Community Foundation will help us provide quality, affordable day care for low income families,” said OCO Development Coordinator Margaret Barclay. “Through special scholarships families that otherwise could not afford to will now be able to have their children receive services in a licensed child care facility where the safety, learning, and developmental needs of their children are central to care.”

“We work with our families to provide them with the child care they need, at a rate they can afford, so they can work or seek employment and rest assured their children are in a safe environment where they are encouraged to learn and grow,” added Center Manager Julie Boyd. “On average OCO’s Discovery Learning Center annually provides services to 20 low income children. Thanks to this generous support from the Oswego County Community Foundation, it is our goal over the next twelve months is to help five additional low-income families by providing them with a scholarship if they cannot cover the entire cost of care due to economic challenges.”

Discovery Learning Center is a New York State licensed center offering quality child care for children ages 18 months to 12 years and is licensed for 42 child care slots.

Since 1995, the center has served approximately 1,427 children and their families. Discovery Learning Center’s staff utilizes a research-based curriculum focused on language and literacy, creative representation, music, movement, logic and mathematics, and social development.

Children enjoy active learning through a “hands-on” approach, implemented in all of the classrooms led by a child care staff that is constantly teaching, encouraging and nurturing the natural curiosity of children.

The center meets or exceeds NY State guidelines for staff/child ratios; offers a menu developed by a registered dietician that includes breakfast, lunch, and afternoon snack, all of which are prepared on site; has health professional on staff, a large outdoor play area for all age groups and a special fenced in playground for Toddlers and Preschoolers.

“Providing safe, quality child care to low income children and their families assures that these children are prepared to enter kindergarten and can be successful as they transition in to the public school system,” said OCO Executive Director Diane Cooper-Currier. “Support from the Oswego County Community Foundation will ensure that low income children and their families can access Discovery Learning Center’s quality care and not allow their inability to pay be a barrier to their children’s success and development.”

The Oswego County Community Foundation is a philanthropic initiative to attract and retain permanent charitable dollars for the benefit of Oswego County. This charitable endowment serves as a collection of gifts from many donors who are committed to preserving and enhancing the quality of life in this region.

The Oswego County Community Fund awards grants to nonprofit organizations that serve the residents of Oswego County.

Source URL: https://oswegocountytoday.com/community/community-foundation-grant-aids-discovery-learning-center/

---