The Children’s Activity Center functions primarily to provide mothers free and convenient child care, so they can attend program functions and complete their recovery. The CAC cares for children ages six months through kindergarten on a daily basis, as well as school age children in the event that school is not in session.

The CAC provides children an environment which allows them to learn and grow. We want to nurture the physical, emotional and spiritual development of the children. This is for the sake of their success and for the glory of God. To accomplish this, we put a lot of attention toward creating an atmosphere where they experience the love of Christ.

A loving environment allows them to feel safe, attended to and cared for, so they can effectively participate in activities. The daily schedule includes play therapy with counselors, free play time, an art project, story time, and outside play time. These activities help their development exposing them to new things while encouraging learning and discovery.

We currently need volunteers to work directly with the children in the CAC. We have specific needs on Monday and Wednesday afternoons, 12:30- 3:30 p.m. With summer quickly approaching, we are also looking for volunteers or volunteer groups during that time, starting on June 20th until September 2nd.

Over the summer we will participate in all kinds of activities with the school aged children. Activities include big projects, hikes, and outside games among many other fun things. Financial gifts for the kids to go on these outings and potentially participate in summer camps and activities would be amazing.

Hannah is a children's ministry coordinator and wrote this blog post. You can reach her at hannahe@ugmportland.org