Francis Preschool Eighteen years ago, Francis was born with Down syndrome and other maladies that led to open heart surgery at a very young age. When he was preschool-aged, his social worker recommended St. David's Center's Early Childhood Education program to his mother, Joyce. "It was good for him to have time away from me, to socialize with typically developing children and interact with the staff," she explained. "He learned how to take risks on the playground and matured; he just liked it."

Francis Today Last summer, Francis reconnected with St. David's Center through its Adventure program for young adults with special needs, and currently attends the school-day program. While there, he likes to hang out, play basketball and go outside. Despite his feeding tube and recently becoming deaf in his left ear, Francis continues to dream about hotels. He takes a suitcase to school and has a collection of more than 350 hotel cards that friends and family send to him from their trips. Here's to many more adventures, Francis!

50th Anniversary Gala

Celebrate 50 years of enriching the lives of children and families at our 50th Anniversary Gala presented by the Minnesota Vikings. The event will be held Saturday, March 5 at International Market Square in Minneapolis.

The Gala will raise $235,000 to support our work in: early childhood education; early intervention and treatment for children facing developmental challenges; and support programs for individuals with enduring special needs.

To commemorate our anniversary, we've extended the event to midnight and added entertainment by The R Factor. Buy your tickets now!

Be Mine Ball

More than 150 children and their families put their creativity to use at the inaugural Be Mine Ball: A Valentine's Event for Families. On Friday, February 11, current and alumni children enjoyed sweet treats, created Valentine's-themed art projects, dressed up for photos and danced until the bedtime hour.

How They've Grown

The Early Childhood Education Classes from 2008 will have their three-year reunion on Saturday, May 21 from 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. at St. David's Center. We will visit the tree planted at the year-end events and open the time capsule. Watch for more details.

Sensory-Friendly Family Movie Outing

Coming Soon: A sensory-friendly movie outing for current and alumni families. We will reserve a theatre at Eden Prairie AMC for our families to view a movie where the lights are up, sound is down and guests can move around. Stay tuned to our website for more details based on G-rated movie availability.

This is it

In an effort to streamline our communication and use our resources more efficiently, this will be our last St. David's Center Alumni E-Newsletter.

We hope you will continue to remain updated on what's happening at St. David's Center through our general e-newsletter each quarter and by following us on Facebook.

Our deepest thanks to the Alumni Committee for helping us conceive of some key ways to keep you engaged well beyond your child(ren)'s enrollment. Going forward, we hope to see you at family outings and gatherings open to our broader St. David's Center community, including families currently and formerly enrolled.

Visit St. David's Center for Child & Family Development online at www.stdavidscenter.org.