History

<body topmargin=0 leftmargin=0 marginheight=0 marginwidth=0> <table cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0 border=0><tr> <td valign="top" colspan=2 height=100 BGCOLOR="#CC66FF" TEXT="#080000"> <div> <B><IMG SRC="01ae64d0.gif" border=0 width="230" height="77" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">   </B></div> <bR> <div> </div> </td> </tr><tr> <td valign="top" width=210 BGCOLOR="#FFFFFF" TEXT="#080000"> <div> <A HREF="about_us.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="About Us"><B>* Back To About Us Page</B></A></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="overview.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Overview"><B>* Overview</B></A></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="mission.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Mission"><B>* Mission</B></A></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="history.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="History"><B>* History</B></A></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="facilities.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Facilities"><B>*Facilities</B></A></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="our_board.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Our Board"><B>*Our Board</B></A></div> <div> <A HREF="http://www.stl.unitedway.org/" TARGET="_blank" TITLE="http://www.stl.unitedway.org/"><IMG SRC="0114e3a0.gif" border=0 width="78" height="58" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></A></div> <bR> </td> <td valign="top" height=380 width="100%" BGCOLOR="#FFFFFF" TEXT="#080000" background="00c64643.jpg"> <bR> <div> <B><U>History</U></B></div> <bR> <div> <B><U><IMG SRC="03d5a050.jpg" border=0 width="346" height="517" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></U></B></div> <div> <B>Stella Maris Child Center was founded in 1849 as a children's orphanage</B></div> <div> <B>operated by the Daughters of Charity.  Stella Maris, which is</B></div> <div> <B>Latin for "Star Of The Sea" has been caring for St. Louis children ever since.</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>In 1944, Stella Maris was incorporated as a child care center, and </B></div> <div> <B>received its first funds from the United Way.  In 1953, we became a</B></div> <div> <B>nonsectarian, not-for-profit center that catered to the children and their</B></div> <div> <B>families regardless of their race or income.</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>We moved to our present location at 5183 Raymond Avenue in 2005,</B></div> <div> <B>expanding our licensed capacity from 93 to 144 children and</B></div> <div> <B>adding new programs for the infant-toddler and school-aged care.</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>Today, Stella Maris is the oldest child learning center in St. Louis.</B></div> <div> <B>Fully licensed and accredited, we offer year-around educational</B></div> <div> <B>programs for children aged six weeks to six years, and summer programs</B></div> <div> <B>for children up to 12 years in age.  We are typically fully enrolled and</B></div> <div> <B>maintain a waiting list.</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>Funding from the United Way, as well as public and private sources,</B></div> <div> <B>enables Stella Maris to serve many families that cannot afford to</B></div> <div> <B>pay the full cost of child care and early childhood education.</B></div> </td> </tr></table></body>