Royal Castle Child Development Center
About the Organization:
The hurricane flooding in Greater New Orleans wiped out more than 82% of the licensed child care facilities in the city. That child care shortage remains today, greatly slowing economic recovery in the region.
Led by the local United Way, the Greater New Orleans Rebuild Child Care Collaborative (GNORCCC) brings together business, government and non-profit resources to provide affordable, high-quality child care. The goals of the GNORCCC are to facilitate the opening of 10 to 15 child care centers within the next twelve months through rebuilding or new construction, thereby creating 1,000 child care spaces that do not now exist.
Approved Project:
Royal Castle Child Development Center
Project Description and Status:
Working with the Greater New Orleans Rebuild Child Care Collaborative, Operation Kids provided key funding for the renovation and re-opening of the Royal Castle Child Development Center. The Center provides high quality child care for more than 100 kids in a hard-hit area of New Orleans. Funding from Operation Kids repaired walls, doorways, windows, roofing and interior areas.
In addition to rebuilding the facility, funding for the project is also being used to train staff and implement improved programming for the children. When fully completed, Royal Castle will be an outstanding, nationally-accredited day care center in New Orleans.
The ribbon cutting ceremony for the newly-renovated facility was held on December 17. Drew and Brittany Brees spoke to staff, parents and local residents and toured the center.
Project Cost:
$73,000
Funds Still Needed:
This project is fully funded and completed.
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Royal Castle received extensive damage as a result of Hurricane Katrina. Walls, windows, doors roofing and other items had to be repaired or replaced. |
It took the construction team several weeks to complete all the work. |
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Royal Castle Child Development Center serves up to 100 children in a hard-hit section of New Orleans. |
The hurricane wiped out more than 80 percent of licensed care facilities in New Orleans. This significantly impacts recovery efforts, as working parents are hesitant to return to New Orleans if they have no place to place their children. |
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The dedicated staff at Royal Castle provides a rich learning environment for children ages 0-5. |
As part of the rebuild, programming will be significantly upgraded so that the center can become nationally-accredited. |
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Royal Castle Child Development Center with its fresh coat of paint. The Center now looks new and beautiful inside and out! |
Royal Castle caregivers, United Way representatives, neighborhood residents, children and their parents joined Drew and Brittany Brees for an official ribbon cutting of the facility on December 17. |
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Everyone enjoyed seeing Drew and Brittany, who got their first tour of the renovated facility after the ceremony. |
Mrs. Pearlie Harris, director of Royal Castle and Todd Batiste, VP – Children and Family for the Greater New Orleans United Way, are flanked by leaders of the construction team responsible for the building’s renovation. |
