 SSDN's mission is to promote community well-being by:
- Providing and supporting high quality care for young children.
- Assisting families to earn a sufficient living.
- Developing productive, healthy citizens who contribute to neighborhood economic stability and cultural richness.
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We do this by providing comprehensive child care and educational preschool for children from six weeks to pre-kindergarten.
The majority of SSDN families live in St. Louis’ South Side neighborhoods - Benton Park West, Gravois Park, Fox Park and McKinley Heights. Ninety percent of the children in our programs live in poverty; 80 percent live in single-parent homes; and 56 percent receive food stamps. Our families include teenage moms completing high school, grandparents who have custody of their grandchildren, and “working poor” parents who struggle to stay in local restaurant, health care or retail jobs. Many parents work two jobs or attend school or training programs to earn more money and benefits.
SSDN’s quality childcare and early childhood education enables these parents and guardians to work toward building economic stability for their families, and gives their children the foundation they need to be successful in school. We rely on private support to bridge the gap between the full cost of the quality programs we provide and the funding we receive from federal and state programs and parent fees.
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