CAP Council founder recalled at facility dedication
EL CENTRO — When the late Margaret “Peggy” H. Calvin founded the Imperial Council Child Abuse Protection Council back in the mid-1970s, a parent was more likely to get arrested for injuring an animal than for injuring a child.
No laws on the books required hospitals to report suspected abuse. Calvin, who co-founded the CAP Council in 1976, helped change that, working tirelessly as advocate for child protection, community awareness and parent education. The organization’s motto was, “It’s not easy being a parent, but you are not alone.”
It was in Calvin’s honor Wednesday the council dedicated its new Early Developmental Center, also known as “Peggy’s Place.”
Previously only serving parents with school-aged children and preschoolers, the council expanded its parent curriculum in recent years and now serves parents with children 5 years and under. However, adding those services required additional space, which it found when an unoccupied business space located next door to its main office at 563 W. Main St. became available.
“We have been waiting a long time for this to happen,” CAP Council Executive Director Yvette Garcia told the crowd gathered at Wednesday’s open house. She said she hopes the additional space will triple or even quadruple the number of families the organization is able to serve.
“We hope to be overflowing with families we are able to serve better through these two facilities,” she said. Services offered through the Early Developmental Center include parenting classes; Parent and Child Together (PACT) classes aimed at developmental growth for infants, toddlers and preschoolers; early developmental screenings, and bi-weekly parent café, which was created to give parents a social avenue to talk with other parents after classes. All services provide through the CAP Council are free. For more information, call (760) 353-8300.