Brightest Horizons Mission Child Care Development Center
Fact Sheet & History
Brightest Horizons is a 501(c)(3), serving Lee County
since 1958
We
are a licensed facility and provide service to 163 children, from age 4 weeks to
12 years old, from 6:30 am to 6 pm - Monday through Friday. We have a large
waiting list of children.
All families pay a fee based on family size and income. The sliding scale is
provided by the Coalition for Early Learning.
Approximately one half of our students are funded through the State of
Florida's Child Care Partnership Program, which matches funds donated to
Brightest Horizons.
Less than half of the other children are funded through the state with
federal/state subsidy.
We also serve the children of families who fall outside any of the above
criteria so we must raise full scholarships for them to help them maintain their
self-sufficiency and independence.
In order to care for our children, we need to raise $375,000 for our annual
campaign each year from individuals, organizations, churches, and foundations in
Lee County and elsewhere. All contributions are tax deductible.
We began as the Lee County Migrant Mission in the late 1950's to help the
migrant gladiolus field workers with warm clothing and blankets during the cold
winters. In January 1974, the year-round Harlem Heights Day Care Center opened
when Kathy Shaddock was hired to be the director /teacher for 40 two through
four year olds. ( We have been a 501 (c) (3) since then.) Soon the facility was
expanded to accommodate 75 children and 33 years later our licensed capacity has
grown to 163.)
The Harlem Heights Community began as a migrant area filled with temporary
housing made of tarpaper. However, families continually took the opportunity to
improve their homes. During the late 1960's - '70's, the Self-Help Housing
Federal Government Program helped families build the first permanent housing in
the area. We started Habitat for Humanity in Lee County and began building the
first homes in Harlem Heights. Now there are many streets filled with beautiful
Habitat homes, built with the "sweat equity" and $$$ equity of the
prospective homeowners and volunteers throughout Lee County.
For many years we operated a thrift shop as part of our outreach program. The
Harlem Heights Improvement Association was eager to open their own store. This
was our opportunity to empower this growing community so we closed ours. They
now have a store and an outreach center in a peach colored building on Gladiolus
Drive. That building also provides space for meetings and programs to help the
community
In the 1990's, with welfare reform, many more women with young children were
expected to join the workforce. To respond to the increased need for childcare,
we undertook the task of building an additional building in order to care for
infants through two year-olds. The facility was opened and filled to capacity
upon completion in 1998. It was renamed Brightest Horizons Child Development
Center and was then caring for 123 children.
In 2000, the before and after school program for our preschool
"graduates" was sharing space with our four-year-old children and was
not an ideal situation. In 2003, we completed the installation of a rented
doublewide portable with two classrooms. Our Board undertook this temporary
measure in recognition of the fact that we needed to look to expansion, or
possible relocation within the Harlem Heights Community. We plan to make final
decisions regarding a possible move and strategy to finance it in 2007
Childcare has become the major emphasis of the Center. For other needs, we
are more of a referral agency than a direct service provider. In January of 2005
we narrowed our outreach services (beyond just referrals) to the families we
serve through our child development program. We believe we can have more of an
impact assisting families in need if we concentrate on the families that are
already an important part of the Brightest Horizons' Family.
We are certified and accredited by the National Association for the Education
of Young Children (NAEYC) and with these high standards, qualify for the State
of Florida's "Gold Seal of Excellence" and increased funding from the
state. We were also one of five child care organizations in the state of Florida
to receive the Success by Six Grant in 2003, which stresses early literacy and
parental involvement. These are now permanent components of our program. We are
also anticipating being a partner with the state as part of the Universal Pre-K
Program.
Your assistance supports the financial and volunteer needs of Brightest
Horizons and is appreciated by all of us, especially the children and families
we serve. Working families need your hands-up assistance so that they can know
their children are in a safe, nurturing, and healthy environment that prepares
them socially, emotionally, physically and intellectually for their future
education and productive lives.
You can truly make a difference in the lives of the children.
