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February 11, 2025

Dear MVCDC Supporter,

We are so proud of our MVCDC Difference Makers!

Our teachers provide fun and engaging learning opportunities to our young learners every day, and our Family Support Specialists and Home Visitors are doing incredible work with families who count on them for support. Everyone at MVCDC is making and meeting goals and milestones — from our staff to children to parents and caregivers. We truly are family to each other!

To all of you who have supported us for 60 years, thank you! Our passion and commitment to excellence are unshakable.

Gratefully,

Berta Velilla

President, Chief Executive Officer

Join us at the Lincoln Hill ribbon-cutting March 11!

Our ribbon-cutting for the Lincoln Hill Early Learning center is coming up. We’re so excited to finally be able to show the community this new state-of-the-art center where we’ll serve 250 young children.

Our partners at Lincoln Hill include Mission of Mary Cooperative, the University of Dayton Hanley Sustainability Institute, the Fitz Center for Leadership in Community, East End Community Center and Children’s Hospital. We’ll be welcoming others, too!

Thank you to our funders who made Lincoln Hill possible: the National Office of Head Start, the City of Dayton, Montgomery County, Preschool Promise and The Dayton Foundation.

Our new annual report is out!

Take a minute to browse our new annual report. The data are so impressive!

Did you know that we serve almost 3,000 children in Montgomery, Clark and Madison counties?

Did we mention that MVCDC is Ohio’s largest Head Start provider of early learning for infants and toddlers?

We’re so proud of our Difference Makers and the children and families they support!

Welcome, new board members!

We’re excited to share MVCDC has welcomed four new board members. We look forward to all the contributions they’re going to make.

Thank you:

Devon Berry, Director of Human Resources, West Carrollton City School District

Devon is an educational leader offering two decades of achievement developing student-centered environments that foster authentic learning and responsible citizenry.

Steve Budde, Lean Six Sigma Practitioner

Steve has a broad range of experience in both large company business units ($3+ billion) and entrepreneurial organizations where he was responsible for growth and meeting payrolls.

James Cosby, III, Founding Executive Director, Bottom Line Ohio

James is a highly motivated leader with a desire to make an impact on education in our community by helping students reach their academic goals and supporting minority populations in education.

Alison Dugan, Elementary Teacher, Northeastern Local Schools

Alison is an educational professional with 20 years of experience in helping students achieve academic success.

We keep investing in our staff

MVCDC and Head Start programs nationally use HighScope, an evidence-based curriculum, in our classrooms. Found in all 50 states and 12 countries, HighScope is designed to teach young children through active, hands-on learning, all with the goal of getting children ready for kindergarten.

During our HighScope training in October, Early Head Start Teachers learned about using open-ended STEM materials with the infants and toddlers in their care, and they got to practice with new materials they took back to their classrooms. Young children – and adults, too – learn through play.

So many supported our families during the holidays

Kettering Fairmont High School students, under the leadership of their teacher Kyle Boze, provided a generous donation of toys, clothes and more to 75 MVCDC preschool children.

The students worked hard to raise the

money.

David’s United Church of Christ provided donations for 80 MVCDC families during the holidays.

We are so grateful for their donations and appreciate the generosity and support from the community!

Hundreds of coats were donated to children in our community, thanks to WDTN’s Coats for Kids. MVCDC’s MET center was one of the drop-off locations again this year. The MET has a pallet filled with new or gently used coats we can distribute to our young learners.

Staff and families should contact Joe Joyce for details regarding the coat distribution. Berta Vellila, Steve Kandel, Malissa Patterson, Danielle Smith and Joe were there to thank WDTN and Rush Truck Centers and to accept the donation.

We’re welcoming so many new faces!

Between October and December, MVCDC welcomed 37 new employees. These new Difference Makers are already making important contributions. Given the workforce crisis in so many professions – and especially in early childhood education – we were thrilled to recruit so many new employees.

Welcome to MVCDC!