Para los Ninos Dedicates New Child Care Wing

Some 50 community members Tuesday inaugurated the new S. Mark Taper Foundation Child Care Wing at Para los Ninos Child Care and Development Center.

The $150,000 wing, funded by the S. Mark Taper Foundation, allows the 18-year-old Para los Ninos to expand its services for low-income preschoolers from 123 to 171.

Earlier in the day, 50 children ages 3 and 4 practiced a song in Spanish about the importance of unity and friendship to teacher Susan Han’s acoustic guitar rendition of Beethoven’s “Ode to Joy.” The song was to welcome visitors into their new classrooms on 6th Street west of downtown.

The S. Mark Taper Foundation helped fund the expansion because “we looked at why [Para los Ninos] lasted for 20 years and noticed it is a mature organization that is ready to move on to the next level,” said Ray Reisler, executive director of the S. Mark Taper Foundation. “It’s an exemplary organization.”

An additional $50,000 grant by the foundation will enhance the education services to school-age children involved in Para los Ninos’ after-school, summer day camp and juvenile delinquency prevention programs.

Founded in 1980 to provide child care to the children living in skid row hotels, Para los Ninos (For the Children) now has programs at a dozen sites, including five in the MacArthur Park and Pico Union areas.

At its original 6th Street site in the center of skid row, there is a waiting list of about 500 children.

“People think that just because you don’t see the families living here, they don’t exist,” said the organization’s vice president, Jorge Armendariz, referring to the buildings and warehouses that surround the facility.

Armendariz said the center has had difficulty attracting volunteers, who believe the area is too unsafe for them to drive through.

“There are a lot of families living on the outskirts, that’s why people take the time to invest here,” Armendariz said.

“It’s not the safest area, but we’ve been very fortunate.”