Jefferson City Day Care Center helps parents balance work, family

Easing a mother's mind

Desiree Edwards and her children, Damarion, Brooklyn and Dakari, are shown at Jefferson City Day Care Center.
Desiree Edwards and her children, Damarion, Brooklyn and Dakari, are shown at Jefferson City Day Care Center.

Desiree Edwards has a lot to handle.

The 28-year-old is a single mother of three children, ages 6 and younger, who has to find a way to take care of her children and earn a living. Thanks to the Jefferson City Day Care Center, her mind can be put at ease.

"They are a lot of help," Edwards said, sitting at the center while her oldest child, Damarion Carter, 6, rifled through stacks of toys looking for something to play with after getting out of East Elementary School.

Damarion is the only one of her three children who did not go to the Jefferson City Day Care Center. Though he does very well in school (Edwards proudly spoke of Damarion's latest achievement, an award in his math class, calling him "a smarty pants"), Edwards said she did notice her younger two children developed faster after beginning at the center.

Edwards' daughter, Brooklyn Johnson, 4, started learning to count in Spanish not long after starting at the center. And her youngest son, Dakari Johnson, 2, who has been attending the center since he was six weeks old, mastered the alphabet and could count up to 10 before his second birthday.

"I really do believe they do teach them (well)," Edwards said.

Established in 1966, the Jefferson City Day Care Center is licensed to provide enrollment for 95 children up to 8 years old. It began as a joint effort between low-income people who lived in a housing complex and Church Women United and sought to provide child care so mothers on public assistance could work and afford reliable child care, with the hope they would become independent of public assistance and their children would have a better chance of success in school.

The center is open all year and continues its mission to serve the needs of low- and middle-income families where parents are either working or in school. The center provides nutritious meals to all children enrolled, including breakfast, lunch and an afternoon snack, and provides parents with classes, resources and referrals when needed.

Services are paid for through a sliding-fee scale based on a family's size and gross annual income. Edwards said sometimes she can't pay her entire bill at one time and the center always works with her.

"I've had the same job because of them," Edwards said.

Edwards's youngest two children have been going to the center for two and a half years, which she said has enabled her to keep her job at Best Western hotel and not have to worry about who is watching her children. Damarion's father lives out of town and moves often, Edwards said, so he is unable to see Damarion too often. As for Brooklyn and Dakari's father, Edwards said he is not very involved in either child's life. To Edwards, the staff at the center has often been her only partner in parenting.

"They're like family," Edwards said of the staff. "I'm very blessed to have them in my life."

How to donate

In order to be tax deductible, checks must be made payable to the United Way of Central Missouri and the United Way must retain the right to specifically determine who the donation will benefit.

The United Way will establish "A Christmas Wish" fund, and donors can give a gift "in the name of" someone specific, or a United Way partner agency.

A volunteer committee will oversee the distribution of these funds.

If you want to help fill a Christmas wish, mail checks to United Way of Central Missouri, 205 Alameda Drive, Jefferson City Missouri 65109. "News Tribune Christmas Wish Fund" should be noted on the memo line of the check.

Questions may be directed to Ann Bax, President of United Way of Central Missouri, 573-636-4100, or [email protected].