Daily Local News (West Chester, PA)
Taking care of kids at the Care Center Foundation
WEST CHESTER >> Four staffers at the Care Center Foundation, on S. Matlack Street, enjoy their work there.
Father of five and former teacher at the Care Center, Greg Hernandez of the borough, served as a father figure to several of the students aged from six weeks old to kindergarten age.
“It was not the most lucrative job, but I stuck it out and did it for the kids,” he said. “Not many children (at the Care Center) have father figures.
“As a male, the kids were attached to me.”
Mercedes Guaman is also a former teacher at the Care Center and recently became a U.S. citizen. She was a physics and math teacher in Ecuador and holds a doctorate.
“I was looking for the American Dream and new opportunities,” she said. “The Care Center Foundation gave me my first opportunity to work as a teacher in this country.”
Claudia Brown is an administrator at the Care Center.
“We are here to support the parents as much as we can,” she said. “The problem is once kids leave we lose contact with the parents.
“Things can go up or down.”
Parents are required to work or go to school for 20 hours per week. The Care Center with 33 students wants to keep parents employed.
“Once you have a baby if you are gainfully employed you can pay your bills and get an education,” Wendy Wallace, volunteer president, said. “We engage parents at a young age to keep working and provide a safe/caring environment.”
The non-profit is supported by donations, local and federal grants, local churches and some fundraisers.
“We build families and work together to have families stick together and to know they are cared for,” Wallace said. “It requires a village to just be there at the right time.”
The care center supports the community in many ways.
It hosts a food cupboard, birthday program, with a party and gift, and a “Day of Peace” to bring the community together.
For Thanksgiving, there are turkeys and meals distributed and a “pop up” sale at Christmas with everything sold for a dollar. The kids also get Christmas gifts.
Businesses sponsor families and clothes are distributed in August. Meals are also vacuum packed and can last up to two years for families in crisis.
Contact information: www.carecenterfoundation.org or call 610-4366226.