The Children's Center

The Children’s Center is a nonprofit organization that provides pregnant mothers and children ages birth to five with a variety of early childhood education services including high quality childcare, Head Start and Early Head Start programs, Early Intervention services, and pediatric therapy. Our mission is to nurture and educate children as well as their families—because we believe family is the best teacher and decision maker! Our programs serve a diverse Western Tidewater community, including pregnant women and children with disabilities and developmental delays.

The Children's Center was founded in 1983 when we branched our from Edmarc Children's Hospice, as a childcare that included children with disabilities, with just 12 employees and 63 children. Today, we serve over 1,100 children and employ more than 200 professionals! Since the beginning, we have been dedicated to promoting child development, advocating for children's needs, and supporting families in our communities while growing and adding programs to extend our reach!

The Children's Center is the grantee for Early Head Start and Head Start in Western Tidewater. Our Early Head Start program serves pregnant mothers up to age 3, while Head Start serves children ages 3-5 and prepares them for kindergarten. We offer a Home-Based program for pregnant moms and babies to support healthy pregnancies. Our Early Care and Education program offers high-quality childcare to children ages 6 weeks to 5 years. Our Early Intervention program provides services for children ages birth to age 3 who have developmental delays or disabilities. Pediatric Therapy serves children with therapy needs up to age 21. 

This year, we are supporting our Early Intervention babies! Many young children need a little extra help to reach certain developmental milestones. The Children's Center has helped many babies in Western Tidewater and beyond grow and learn! This program is a fee-based program, however many families enroll at little to no cost. No child is turned away for the inability to pay for services. Because of that, this program needs donations to keep going! We often need to purchase developmental materials such as books, sensory manipulatives, and equipment for our therapists to use when working with children. 

EVERY child shines, help us LIGHT the way!

Ways you can help: Partner with a friend or neighbor to make your donation more impactful! Make a donation in memory of a loved one - or in honor of someone special! 

Who We Are

The Children’s Center is a nonprofit organization that provides children ages birth to five with early childhood education services including high quality childcare, Head Start and Early Head Start programs, Early Intervention services, and pediatric therapy. Our mission is to nurture and educate children as well as their families—because we believe family is the best teacher and decision maker! Our programs serve a diverse Western Tidewater community, including children with disabilities and developmental delays.

The Children's Center was founded in 1983 as a childcare with just 12 employees and 63 children. Thirty-eight years later, we are serving over 1,200 children and employ more than 230 professionals! Since the beginning, we have been dedicated to promoting child development, advocating for children's needs, and supporting families in our communities while growing and adding programs to extend our reach!