1. We are a non-profit day care center, open since 1973, dedicated to providing quality child care and educational experience for all children.


2. We are a day care center for the Panhandle - of the more than 70 children that attend the Shepherdstown Day Care:  37% come from Charles Town, Ranson, and Harpers Ferry, 38% come from Shepherdstown, and 25% come from the Martinsburg area.


3. We are the only day care center in the region with a sliding scale for tuition which is tied to family income level - this means that we must raise funds to offset the difference in cost between what a family is charged and the actual cost of day care.


4. Almost half of the families at the Shepherdstown Day Care are living at or below the poverty level - but our sliding scale for tuition enables these families to work or study to pursue their dreams, while giving their children the best possible start in life.


5. Approximately 40% of our children receive tuition assistance from the State of West Virginia's "Mountain Heart" program - unfortunately, this assistance falls far short of the actual cost of day care, requiring us to raise funds to cover the shortfall.


6. In 2007, the Shepherdstown Day Care is partnering with the Jefferson County Board of Education to provide a Pre-K Program - one of only two day care centers in the Eastern Panhandle to be selected to implement this mandated program, and the only one offering wrap around full day care.


7. The Shepherdstown Day Care is an area leader in implementing the "Creative Curriculum," an innovative program that enables teachers to design classroom environments that harness a child's imagination to stimulate their development.


8. Through a special grant from the Mardi Gras Fund, the Shepherdstown Day Care is able to offer dance, drama, art and yoga classes to its preschool children.


9. Children from the Shepherdstown Day Care enter the elementary school environment ready to learn - as Susan Offut, the principal of Shepherdstown Elementary School stated:  "Children from the Shepherdstown Day Care consistently come to us with well developed school readiness skills; they're familiar with cooperating in a group setting, taking turns and sharing.


10. The Wine Auction will raise funds the Shepherdstown Day Care needs to offset shortfalls in tuition, as well as enable us to pursue a renovation and expansion program designed to provide the best possible environment for children to grow and learn.

If you have any questions, or would like more information about the Shepherdstown Day Care, please feel free to contact our Director, Melissa Holman at (304) 876-6923.