…Winter turned to spring in Ogden and with a changing season, it’s time for a bit of news.

This time, we’re excited to announce that we are realizing the vision of expanding our reach into another community. Last month, we bought a house in the underserved community of Forest Lawn. It’s a bright and airy building with a big kitchen and social spaces, lots of windows, and across from a green space and three local schools. Modelled on the success of the Ogden house, we will create another oasis for kids. We hope to open in the fall.

Meanwhile, we will host another season of free summer day camps at the Ogden house and in the park. The kids will be served breakfast on arrival and lunch, play sports, music, tend to the gardens, cook, be part of a book club, and create art. It’ll be chaotic, noisy, and fun. The 200 plus kids of Ogden who are registered at our centre will have the opportunity to “be a kid”, make new friends, with the promise of spending time with adults who truly care about their futures. The kids are excited and so are we.

We are delighted to report that our plans follow a fun and crazy winter at the Ogden house. Kids flew through the doors right after the bell, dumped their winter gear, and sat down to warm, healthy meals. They worked on computers, took a music lesson, created art. They visited with their friends, shared the stories of the days and mapped out their futures in our safe and warm “home away from home”. New children arrived seemingly every day and were welcomed with a smile.

The impact of our time in Ogden has given us the impetus to boldly move forward with a second centre. For a lot of kids in Ogden, the future is brighter, as it will be for the kids of Forest Lawn/Dover in the coming years.

If you’re interested, we’d love to show you around our new centre – or indeed the Ogden Centre. Drop me a note and we’ll arrange a time. If you’d like to see the ‘before’ version of the new house, please act quickly. Changes and improvements are underway…

With love and gratitude,
Jane ❤️