Day care center groundbreaking is attended by U. profs, children

In an overgrown, grassy plot with a partially gutted building at 31st and Spring Garden streets, over 50 adults and 65 children attended a groundbreaking ceremony for a new children's day care center yesterday morning. The kindergarten and pre-kindergarten children, wearing bright yellow hard hats and wielding plastic shovels, attempted to hollow a foundation for The Caring Center -- a new non-profit day care center which should begin operation next year. The children, many of whom belong to members of the University community, are currently attending the ISI Caring Center at 35th and Filbert streets. Last May, the center's owners, the Institute for Scientific Information, decided to permanently close the nine-year-old center, according to Marguerite Miller, associate editor of Almanac. Parents, who praise the center's staff and program, formed an organization to save the center. Miller, who has a two-year-old child in the center, said the high quality of child-care at the center could not be sacrificed. The University agreed to guarantee the loans for the construction of the center. "This was not just a converted church basement," Miller said of the ISI building which was constructed to be a day care center. "[The closing] was something we just couldn't see happening." The ceremony began with the children trooping off a school bus while waving signs which said "Don't bottle up our day care money." Some quietly sat on the grass while others quickly tested out their new shovels by digging up the nearest plot of ground. Ruth Drye, president of The Caring Center and general manager of Le Bus restaurant, said parents and administrators are hoping to negotiate to keep the the ISI location open until The Caring Center is ready for occupancy, which they hope will be by November. However, they are also looking to alternate locations if ISI closes the center before The Caring Center is opened. And although the University has guaranteed the loans and co-signed with the center, Drye said they are prepared to meet their financial responsibilities. "We have a very strong business plan," she said. "We will be paying our way." Before the official digging began yesterday, the children sang their rendition of "Heigh Ho" from the movie Snow White and the Seven Dwarves. "Heigh ho. Heigh ho. It's off to work we go. We dig, dig, dig, all day long. Heigh ho. Heigh ho," the children chorused. And while the children enjoyed being in the sunshine and playing with their shovels, their minds were far from the speeches and the new center. Their minds were on the refreshments -- apple juice, cake and cookies. When asked what she thought about the event, three year-old Ilana Millner, whose mother is founding director of ISI Caring Center, said, "I'm still hungry." Other children similarly declined to comment. "I don't wanna talk," said Danny Coleman, a student at The Caring Center for all but two months of his two years. "Why are they talking about my Caring Center?" he inquired. The new center will accomodate 145 children from ages six weeks to six years. The 14,000 square foot building will be two stories high and also contain an outdoor play area. Happy Fernandez, director of the Childcare and Family Policy Institute at Temple University, and Ralph Smith, executive director of Philadelphia Children's Network and a University professor, also spoke at the ceremony. Smith said his son thoroughly enjoyed going to the center. "They were probably the best two years of his life," Smith said. Media resident Jane Coleman, whose son Danny attends the center, said her children enjoy the center. "I think it's the staff -- they make it an excellent [center]," Coleman said. "My kids have always wanted to go."

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