Child
center receives $3,000 donation
Betsy McGovern
Online Forty-Niner
Contributing Writer
The Isabel Patterson Child Development Center (CDC) has received a generous
donation of $3,000 from the Target Corp.
The CDC is a childcare facility located next to the Parkside Commons dormitory
on the Cal State Long Beach campus. The CDC provides student-parents with an
opportunity to have licensed professionals care for their children—infants
to elementary school age—while they attend classes at the university.
According to the CDC’s mission statement, located on the CSULB Web site,
its purpose “is to ensure that no student parent is denied access to
higher education due to a lack of affordable childcare.”
Rhonda Marikos, the CDC director, said, “The Center has been active for
over 30 years” and said she is grateful for the support given to the
CDC by the Associated Students, Inc., the California Department of Education,
the CSULB Division of Student Services, CDC parents and various donations from
the Long Beach community, such as the recent donation from Target Corp.
Marikos said the CDC plans to use Target’s donation to improve its literacy
program. Literacy is at the forefront of academic importance for the children
enrolled at the childcare facility.
The $3,000 is expected to impact the children
directly, whether it is through the purchase of new books, the implementation
of new programs geared toward literacy or another venue entirely.
Generous donations, like the one from Target, are given to the CDC through
an application process. An assortment of companies put out feelers in an effort
to inform the public of their desire to donate money to organizations.
Upon hearing about companies willing to donate, the CDC fills out many applications
in hopes of receiving donations. Marikos maintains that donations of a comparable
magnitude to that of Target’s are received approximately once a year,
but there are also many other ways to contribute to the center.
The CDC accepts donations of a non-monetary form from various individual contributors.
Donations include, but are not limited to, books, toys, supplies and tissues.
These donations may be made at any time and are greatly appreciated.
In an effort to show gratitude to the Target Corp. for its generosity, Marikos
plans to write a formal letter of appreciation and said the children will be
happy to get involved by personally making cards.
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