Lehigh Valley Children's Centers history

1971 LVCC established the Allentown Infant Center, Pennsylvania’s first program to offer center-based care for infants and toddlers.

1973 LVCC was incorporated as a non-profit organization “to provide care for children…through a program designed to meet the educational, emotional and physical needs of each child.”

1975 LVCC became a sponsor of the federal Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP), ensuring that LVCC would be able to provide nutritious meals for all enrolled children.

1981 In collaboration with the Allentown School District, LVCC opened Pennsylvania’s first child care center in a high school for teen parents and their children, at William Allen High School.

1983 LVCC opened its first employer-sponsored centers at St Luke’s Hospital in Fountain Hill and the Allentown State Hospital.

1988 The Board of Directors established the LVCC Scholarship Fund.

1991 LVCC became a regional sponsor of the Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP), training and monitoring child care providers outside the Lehigh Valley.

1998 LVCC established the Program Enrichment Fund to support educational and cultural field trips.

2001 Board member Marlene “Linny” Fowler established the Fowler Education Fund at LVCC to support professional development and innovative classroom projects.

2003 LVCC began an Endowment Campaign, co-chaired by Linny Fowler and Elmer Gates.

2007 Pennsylvania Pre-K Counts was established by the Office of Child Development and Early Learning to provide state-funded pre-kindergarten for at-risk children, ages 3 – 5.

2008 LVCC was the largest CACFP sponsor in the Pennsylvania, serving more than 650 providers in 22 counties.

2009 By unanimous vote of the LVCC Board of Directors, Lehigh Valley Child Care changed its name to “Lehigh Valley Children’s Centers,” retaining the well-known initials “LVCC.”

2014 The United Way of the Greater Lehigh Valley began providing program support for LVCC’s “First Steps to Readiness” program, increasing access to quality early education for infants and toddlers.

2015 LVCC partnered with the Easton Area School District to operate a Pre-K Counts classroom in a district school.

2016 Spring Garden Children’s Center, a 60-year-old Easton non-profit, merged with LVCC.

2018 LVCC served 1,300 children at 30 locations: ten full-service centers, school-based before- and after-school programs in six school districts, a teen parent program, a dual-language preschool, and Pre-K Counts classrooms in area schools, including LVCC’s first classrooms in Carbon County.

In 2019-20 LVCC served 494 children in 28 Pre-K Counts classrooms in Lehigh, Northampton, and Carbon Counties.

2020 LVCC celebrated 50 years of continuous service to the community.