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Last updated on October 1, 2008

Saint Vincent's Day Home [SVDH] is a non-profit, non-sectarian agency that provides high quality child and youth development programs and family services to those in greatest economic need in the heart of the West Oakland community. Our mission is to provide quality care, early childhood education and family services to those in greatest need, ensuring that children are nurtured and educated and their parents empowered to meet family responsibilities.

Description:
Since first opening its doors in 1911, Saint Vincent's has welcomed over 32,000 children and their families. Our long history of nurturing children and sustaining families has made us one of the most respected child development centers in the country. For nearly a century, we have remained committed to serving East Bay and surrounding communities, where the need is greatest, and providing a symbol of stability in a community wrought with uncertainty. The Day Home has been a beacon of hope for families as they struggled through the Depression, two world wars, natural disasters and the continuing struggle to be free of economic deprivation and violence. It is undisputed that good childcare is important for all children; it is absolutely critical for the children of low-income families. Research confirms that high quality childcare can help compensate for the variety of ills children suffer when they grow up in poverty. Unfortunately, low-income children are the least likely to receive quality care. In an attempt to balance these odds, SVDH has been a long-standing advocate of children and families in need, remaining true to our original purpose of serving the poorest of the poor. SVDH primarily serves single parent families. Each day, 230 children attend the Day Home while their parents work and/or attend accredited schools or skills training programs. The Day Home provides families with family literacy programs, parental skill training, economic assistance, health screening, housing, immigration and job skill counseling and referrals.

We continually strive to be leaders in our field, forging the way for our peers and successors to work towards a standard of excellence. Forty-five professionals trained in Early Childhood Education, Social Work, Human Development, Psychology, and Business Administration provide multifaceted programs to ensure that families receive a comprehensive and coordinated array of services to support and teach their children. Our commitment to exemplary services to children and families will most certainly ensure that as long as there is a Saint Vincent's, there will always be a place for a child to call HOME.

History:
Accomplishments
1911: Sisters of the Holy Family founded Saint Vincent's Day Home, to care for children whose parents had to work. The Sisters selected a house in West Oakland whose home-like atmosphere would make children and parents feel welcome. For more than 75 years the sisters maintained operations of the programs and built Saint Vincent's into a model program, honored by the California Child Development Administrators Association and other professional organizations, as well as by the State of California, which has rated the facility and the programs "excellent".

1921: The United Crusade began funding the Day Home when its own grant-making program began.

1970: SVDH was invited to be a presenter at the White House Conference on Children

1972: The Day Home received subsidies from the State to support its programs.

1986: The Day Home launched a campaign to build an endowment, The Children's Fund, intended to provide funding through earnings, which could compensate for anticipated cutbacks by United Way.

1980s: Sisters of the Holy Family began discussions with the Day Home's Board of Advisors about the best way to lead the agency into the next century.

1990: The first lay Board of Directors was appointed.

1998: SVDH Board of Directors successfully completed the transition of ownership for the Corporation and the facility, and immediately embarked on a plan for the renovation and expansion of the buildings and the programs. Such an expansion plan would bring the facility up to code while making it ADA accessible, and meet the growing needs of the Oakland and East Bay community.

March 1999: SVDH launched a $4.2 million capital campaign for renovation and expansion. Our campaign
successfully closed on June 30, 2003.

June 2003: The SVDH expansion and renovation was completed, adding four new classrooms and a Family Literacy Center to our facilities.

February 2005: The Family Literacy Program was launched to develop and test models for virtual learning; identify individual interests and potential for obtaining jobs or advancement; coordinate project activities and develop best practices for adult education; and increase family self-sustainability through vocational training.

June 2005: Our newly renovated, ADA accessible playgrounds were completed.

2007: SVDH was awarded $208,000 for Pre-Kindergarten & Family Literacy Program from California Department of Education

2008: SVDH collaborates with UWBA’s Raising a Reader program.

Contact people:

Corinne Mohrmann, Executive Director, (phone), (email) Margaret E. Gutowski, Development Director, (phone), (email) Sister Ann Maureen Murphy, Program Director, (phone), (email)

Main office number: (510) 832-8324
Office fax number: 510-832-5021

Address:

1086 Eighth Street Oakland, CA 94607 (See a map)

Web Site: http://www.svdh.org

Miscellaneous Information

Besides English, which languages are spoken at your agency?
	Arabic, Cambodian, Cantonese, Farsi, French, Hindi, Mandarin, Spanish, Tagalog, Urdu, Vietnamese
What is the minimum age for volunteers at your agency?
	16
Is your agency wheelchair accessible?
	Yes
Does your agency have the capacity to host groups of more than 10?
	Yes
Does your agency have the capacity to host groups of more than 20?
	Yes

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