What was once a storage area at Rebekah Children’s Services has been transformed into a one-stop-shop for parents and young children as a place work together on building the skills to enter school—and succeed once they get there.
On Sept. 25, representatives from Rebekah’s and FIRST 5 of Santa Clara County, a public agency that distributes funding from a statewide tax on tobacco to local early childhood programs and services, opened the doors to the Adelante Family Resource Center in Gilroy.
All families with children under the age of six are eligible to take part in a program at the center, which is funded by FIRST 5 and operated by Rebekah’s. The center also offers parenting workshops, support groups, educational activities and resource and referral support.
“Every child should have a healthy beginning to life,” said FIRST 5 CEO Jolene Smith. “By providing our youngest children with rich learning experiences, we are setting them up to succeed in the classroom and in life. The Adelante Family Resource Center will provide Gilroy families with essential early childhood resources right here in their own community.”
Gilroy’s resource center is one of 13 centers funded by FIRST 5 across the county, and officials said they expect the facility to accommodate approximately 500 local families a year.
Program Manager Alejandra Arreola was all smiles as she stood in the doorway of the facility Sept. 25, giving local officials a tour after it officially opened.
“When they told me this is the resource center, I said ‘let’s make it happen,’” Arreola said, pointing out its most recent use was storage. “We’ve been working really hard, as you can see.”
Local families can participate in free programs to improve a child’s basic literacy and numeracy skills, all the while working on fun projects that help them prepare for school. Developmental screenings and help signing up for health insurance are also available.
“These neighborhood-based centers are open to everyone in the community and emphasize child and family enrichment on a localized basis, using best practices that focus on oral language and early literacy, health and nutrition, school readiness, art enrichment and parent/caregiver leadership models,” reads FIRST 5’s website.
The resource center is located at 290 IOOF Ave. and is open from 9 to 4 p.m. Monday, Wednesday and Friday and from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesday and Thursday. For more information, call (408) 846-2460 or visit www.first5kids.org/frc.
