Agency Details:

North Bay Children's Center

North Bay Children’s Center (NBCC) incorporated in 1986 as a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit corporation. For more than 20 years, NBCC has provided North Bay families – the majority of which are low-income – with high-quality child development programs focusing on school readiness, as well as comprehensive family support programs that promote self-sufficiency.

Description:
NBCC provides a safe, secure, and always caring environment that fosters trust and attachment while encouraging curiosity, exploration, and creativity for children of each age group. NBCC’s commitment to staff development ensures that well trained experienced staff are using age-appropriate tools that include Creative Curriculum, Environmental Rating Scales, and Desired Results to develop and evaluate NBCC’s curriculum content in key program areas. Curriculum content focuses on enrichment activities that build self-esteem, promote language development, support healthy nutrition, and develop early literacy.

NBCC is a participant in the Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP. To that end, NBCC provides a nutritious breakfast, lunch and snacks on a daily basis for every child enrolled in our full-day programs free of charge. NBCC also provides nutritious snacks for children enrolled in our half-day programs.

In January 2004 North Bay Children’s Center (as the lead agency) along with two other child development programs was awarded a grant of $150,000 from The First 5 Marin Children & Families Commission to work together to develop a Community Garden project (Garden of Eatin') that would enable the children who attend these programs to learn about health and nutrition through an integrated, academic and environmental curriculum. The goal of this project is for the children and their families to make better, more informed nutritional choices, embrace their role as caretakers of our natural resources, and excel academically while strengthening their life skills in a hands-on outdoor learning environment. The natural link between gardening and nutrition is fully integrated into NBCC’s Health and Nutrition program.

The Garden of Eatin' is now funded by the California Nutrition Network, Private Foundations, and individual donors providing service for 8 school sites.

History:
NBCC’s main campus is located at Hamilton Field in Marin County. NBCC was the first non-profit community-based organization to relocate to the decommissioned Hamilton Air Force Base as part of the base conversion project in 1996. Last year, we expanded services to Sonoma County in response to a request by the Petaluma City School District to provide pre-school and before- and after-school care at two Petaluma elementary schools (Cherry Valley and McDowell) to an additional 66 children. (NBCC serves 150 children in Novato.) More than 55 percent of the 216 children served by NBCC are eligible for free or reduced school lunches and scholarships for low-income families.

Contact people:

Susan Gilmore, Executive Director, (phone), (email) Jayne Johnson, Program Director, (phone), (email) Wendy Adams, Program Coordinator, (phone), (email)

Main office number: (415) 883-6222
Office fax number: (415) 883-6061

Address:

932 C Street Novato, CA 94949 (See a map)

Web Site: http://www.nbcc.net

Directions:

Take 101 to Hamilton Field exit in Novato. Go east on Main Gate Road and make a left on C Street.

Last updated on March 4, 2009