FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE For more information, contact: Jessica Gaul Executive Director 541-957-1008 Jessicag@cobbschool.org   COBB CHILDREN’S LEARNING CENTER RECEIVES $13,000 GRANT TO SUBSIDIZE CARE FOR DOUGLAS COUNTY FAMILIES Roseburg, Oregon (07.21.20) — Cobb Children’s Learning Center has received a $13,000 grant from the Sisters of Mercy to support its subsidized care program at Cobb Childcare […]

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

For more information, contact:

Jessica Gaul

Executive Director

541-957-1008

Jessicag@cobbschool.org

 

COBB CHILDREN’S LEARNING CENTER RECEIVES $13,000 GRANT TO SUBSIDIZE CARE FOR DOUGLAS COUNTY FAMILIES

Roseburg, Oregon (07.21.20) — Cobb Children’s Learning Center has received a $13,000 grant from the Sisters of Mercy to support its subsidized care program at Cobb Childcare and Preschool. 

Jessica Gaul, executive director of Cobb Children’s Learning Center, said the funds would be used to offset the $35,000 annual deficit to run the subsidized program, allowing all Douglas County families equitable to access high quality care and education through its high-quality preschool and childcare programs.

“Childcare is a large expense for most families, often exceeding 30% of a families income. Grants such as these allow us to assist families who would otherwise be unable to afford childcare,” executive director Gaul said.

About Cobb Children’s Learning Center

Cobb Children’s Learning Center was started as Cobb Street Children’s Learning Center on Cobb Street, in 1994 by Sister Jeanita Richter to meet the growing demand for childcare services in Roseburg, Oregon. Today, the Organization is known as Cobb Children’s Learning Center, and operates the Cobb Childcare & Preschool located on Walnut Street in Roseburg, serving Douglas County children ages 6 weeks to 5 years. For more information about Cobb Children’s Learning Center, or the Cobb Childcare and Preschool, call 541-957-1008 or visit www.cobbschool.org.

About the Sisters of Mercy

All Sisters of Mercy in America trace their roots to their founder, Catherine McAuley, an Irish Catholic laywoman. Catherine recognized the many needs of people who were economically poor in early nineteenth century Ireland and determined that she and women like her could make a difference.

Spending her inheritance, she opened the first House of Mercy on Lower Baggot Street in Dublin, Ireland on September 24, 1827, a place to shelter and educate women and girls. Catherine’s original intention was to assemble a lay corps of Catholic social workers. Impressed by her good works and the importance of continuity in the ministry, the Archbishop of Dublin advised her to establish a religious congregation. Three years later on December 12, 1831, Catherine and two companions became the first Sisters of Mercy. In the 10 years between the founding and her death, she established 14 independent foundations in Ireland and England.

Sisters of Mercy in America

The first Sisters of Mercy arrived in the United States from Ireland in 1843 at the invitation of the Bishop of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.  Their energy in ministering to the sick and economically poor attracted so many new members that by 1854, sisters had come from Ireland to settle in New York City; Chicago, Illinois; Little Rock, Arkansas; and San Francisco, California, spreading across the country and establishing schools and hospitals. Since then, the works of Mercy have expanded to embrace education, health care and pastoral and social services in hundreds of sites today.