Variety Early Learning Center

Web address: www.varietyelc.org

Mission:
To provide quality child care and family services to those families in greatest need while parents(s) are employed in the workforce, job training, or in crisis recovery.

Founded in 1955, Variety Early Learning Center provides quality childcare and family services to those families in greatest need while the parent(s) are employed in the traditional work force, engaged in goal directed licensed job training, or in crisis recovery. Variety Early Learning Center nurtures and educates the children with focus on caring for the earth and its people. Variety Early Learning Center teachers the children to make choices that will enable future generations to live in health, in peace, and in hope.

Agency History/Information:
Variety Early Learning Center is a non-profit, 501c3, non-sectarian agency dedicated to the service of children and their families. The center provides quality childcare and child development services to those in greatest need. We also provide other services to support parents in meeting their responsibilities, and children's programs to increase their educational skills.

Our history goes back to 1955 when Variety Club of Southern Nevada, Tent 39 built and sponsored the center. Variety Club chose the Sisters of the Holy Family to operate the center which was then called 'Divine Providence Variety Day Home," for low-income families with children two to six years of age. The Sisters and staff provided a "Home away from Home," for over 2000 children a year from 1955 to 2009. As the years passed, starting in 1982, the center expanded its services to include infants and other programs including scholarships for affordable childcare to low-income families. The growth of the program has required support from other sources, such as grants, private donors, and foundations to maintain the level and diversity of services to client families and to grow with the increasing population in our community. In 2006, the agency officially changed its' name to "Variety Early Learning Center." Thanks to the kindness of many friends, donors, grants and foundations, we have served thousands of children who have been nurtured since we opened our doors in 1955.

VELC is licensed with the State Licensing to serve 175 children from two months to five-years-old. VELC provides supervised activities and a structured development childcare program. The early learning curriculum is geared toward the development of positive communication. Variety Early Learning Center accepts children for care without regard to race, color, religion, sex, or national origin.

Community Impact:
The program will impact the community by allowing parents to remain self-sufficient and productive citizens.

Target Population:
VELC serves low-income families, mostly single parents, with children ages two months to five- years old.

Geographic area:
The facility is centrally located in West Las Vegas, minutes from the "Spaghetti Bowl," offering easy access to both major freeways (Hwy 15 and 95). The site location is in the City of Las Vegas and serves residents for West Las Vegas, North Las Vegas, and Clark County.

Expected Measurable Outcomes from program:
Childcare Assistance program participants are monitored by Pro Care computer system and reports that will be submitted to various funders designating names, income levels, ethnicity, census tract, and head of household information. Parents will receive childcare assistance, improve economic well-being. Parents will increase their ability to remain gainfully employed, reduce unsafe learning places for young children, increase healthy early childhood development, and improve health nutrition habits for children.

VELC will monitor student's progress through assessment tools for language and oral development communication and monitor each child's developmental progress.

Collaborative Efforts:
Collaborative efforts/involvement with the community:

1. United Way of Southern Nevada to provide parenting programs through meetings, training and volunteering in class; provide High Scope assessment training to our preschool teachers.
2. The State of Nevada Childcare Assistance refers low-income families to our center for childcare. Their binding contract is a childcare promissory note that assures their commitment to their clients who need childcare. These contracts are kept in a confidential file for our records.
3. Nevada State Welfare through the Neon and TANIF Program.
4. Goshen Community Development Coalition - Through funding, we provide an early childhood prevention program for three to five-years-old.
5. New Vista Ranch - is an agency that supports the independence of the Disabled Community where we have hired employees who work with our teachers and children in a classrooms setting.
6. AARP (American Association of Retired Persons) is an agency that refers volunteers over 50 years of age, to work at our center to help the teachers in the classrooms.
7. Catholic Charity - Foster Grandparents refer their clients to volunteer at our center by assisting our teachers and children in classroom.
8. Nevada Partners refers their clients to volunteer at our center.
9. We accept volunteers from PSI World, the Sisters of the Holy Family, the Greater Las Vegas Association of Realtors, St. Thomas More Men's Club, Faith Lutheran Church, Bank of America and Eagle Scouts.

Current programs offered/type of services currently provided:

1. Full-day childcare service from two months to five-years-old not yet in kindergarten from 6:30 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., Monday to Friday, year round except one week during Christmas.
2. Children are provided with age-appropriate early childhood curriculum in the mornings; outdoor play - morning and afternoon; nap time from 12:00 noon to 2:30 p.m. Each age group is divided into separate classes with age-appropriate curriculum and supervised by qualified teachers. Activities are reading readiness, social skills, computer, nutrition and meals with physical activity.
3. Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP) for children's meals-daily breakfast, hot lunch and afternoon snack.
4. Assessment tools to monitor children's academic program.
5. Staff Development Training, an adult training in the field of early childhood education.
6. A substance abuse prevention program for early childhood, funded by Goshen Community Development Coalition.
7. We offer "Childcare Scholarships" program to low-income families who qualify and "Childcare Assistance" for parents looking for employment, or in job training.

Accomplishments:

1. Thanks to the kindness of many friends, our private donors, grant funders, foundations and associate entities who make it possible to serve low-income families and families in crisis, Variety Early Learning Center has been a home away from home for thousands of children since we opened in 1955.
2. VELC continues to be accredited with the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) and the United Way of Southern Nevada.

Currently, we do not have employees from Southwest Gas who participate in the program. However, we welcome volunteers and employees from Southwest Gas to come to the center and participate.