A YEAR-END APPEAL
AT THE CENTER OF IT ALL — 50 YEARS OF IMPACT
Every story is a piece of something bigger.
Stories of Impact
Corine
Parent at Little Village Flagship
Fourteen years with the Center taught Corine to advocate for herself, and now her children are learning to do the same.
Watch Corine's story
“I credit the Center for helping me have my children understand that they have a voice and how to use that voice, how to be a leader – they understand what leadership looks like.
Moved by Corine’s story? Your gift can ensure many like her can continue to grow.
Tom
Early Employee of the Center
Tom’s front-row seat to the Center’s earliest years traces how founding director Maria Whelan’s belief in children shaped a culture of service that still endures today.
Read Tom's story
When Tom joined the Carole Robertson Center for Learning, the Center was still in its earliest years, operating from its original site at 2020 W. Roosevelt Road. As one of the Center’s first employees, Tom had a front row seat to the mission that shaped the organization.
At the center of that vision was Maria Whelan, the Center’s founding director and a respected leader and advocate in Chicago’s early childhood education community. Maria believed deeply in the potential of children and the importance of providing families with high-quality care and education. For Tom, who was himself navigating adolescence at that time, watching Maria lead left an impression that he would come to understand more fully later.
“Working for and being around Maria was an experience I’ll never forget,” Tom recalls. “Being basically a kid, becoming a young adult, I couldn’t fully grasp the magnitude until after I was older.”
Tom remembers Maria as a fierce and outspoken leader whose commitment was evident in the expectations she set and the community she helped build.
“Watching how Maria cared about children and their education was special. She was an outspoken advocate for childcare and education. That was who Maria was – she was a force to be reckoned with.”
Tom also recalls a staff body that was equally invested in the children and families they served. Teachers and program staff collaborated to create a place where young people could learn, build relationships, and imagine possibilities for themselves. Through an after-school sports program, Tom helped youth develop skills related to goal setting, perseverance, and what it meant to work toward their dreams.
At the time, Tom did not recognize how much the experience was shaping him. Looking back, however, he credits the Center, alongside his family, with helping give him a foundation that carried into adulthood.
“The Center was a special place for me,” Tom says. “I met exceptional people who taught me how to care about others, appreciate what you have and give back to others.”
Decades later, when Tom attended the Center’s North Lawndale Pre-Kindergarten Transition ceremony, memories of his time on Roosevelt Avenue came rushing back, including encounters with youth he once worked with.
“When I run into some of the kids, now adults, and they tell me how I was a positive influence for them, it makes me proud,” Tom reflects.
His history is also part of Maria Whelan’s legacy. The culture she helped establish did more than serve children in a particular moment in time — it shaped young staff members like Tom, who carried those lessons forward and passed them on to others.
“Throughout my life I’ve learned to understand that when helping and doing for others, you get back as much, if not more.”
Five decades later, that spirit of service, care and belief in the potential of others remains at the center of it all.
Moved by Tom’s story? Your gift can ensure the Center keeps shaping people the way it shaped him.
Gabriela
Parent at Albany Park Flagship
Referred by her sister and now raising three sons through the Center, Gabriela has watched each one grow into a more confident, expressive version of himself.
Read Gabriela's story
For 50 years, families have discovered the Center through a common path: a referral by a neighbor, a relative, a friend. Gabriela’s story is part of that legacy — she was introduced to the Carole Robertson Center for Learning by her sister, whose children were already enrolled. Drawn to her sister’s praise of the Center, Gabriela joined the Center community.
My name is Gabriela, and I am one of the parents here at the Community Center. I have three boys — my oldest son, who is 11, my 5-year-old, who just graduated, and my almost 4-year-old. They all come here, and they’ve been wonderful just being here, and they’ve learned so much.
What made you want to enroll all three of them here?
My sister’s kids came here, so she told me about the program, and I’m like, oh, that sounds wonderful. So then I enrolled my kids here too, so I have more time to work, and they’re well taken care of here, and I love it here.
How have you seen your children grow since you enrolled?
They’ve grown so much. They are so talkative now — they’ve learned a lot, especially the little one; he’s so talkative, nonstop. My middle child is more open now, and he has so many friends — he’s been able to make a lot of friends. Before, he was very shy and timid. My oldest has been involved in his drawing — he’s become more amazing at drawing just being here. It’s been wonderful for them.
With her five-year-old son now heading off to Kindergarten, Gabriela is proud of all that her sons have accomplished at the Center. The impact on her family extends beyond her sons’ social-emotional growth and self-expression, as Gabriela herself continues to stay closely involved with the Center, developing her own leadership skills by joining its Parent Committee.
Moved by Gabriela’s story? Your gift can ensure other families find the same support she did.
LaTonya
From Parent, to Educator, to Site Director
Twenty-four years after enrolling her daughter, LaTonya has gone from Center parent to educator to Site Director — proof that investing in one person can ripple for decades.
Read LaTonya's story
Twenty-four years ago, LaTonya became aware of the Carole Robertson Center for Learning through her nieces and nephew, who attended the Center. After visiting, she enrolled her own daughter, never imagining how much the Center would eventually shape her own life.
Soon after becoming a Center parent, LaTonya joined a workforce development program and began working at the Center. That opportunity became the start of a career in early childhood education and a journey of personal and professional growth.
“I didn’t know this was going to set me up to become a better individual,” LaTonya reflects.
Through the Center, she grew as an educator and a mother while discovering how she could make a difference in the lives of children and families. With encouragement from colleagues along the way, LaTonya continued her own education, eventually earning her master’s degree.
“I went from a high school diploma to now sitting with a master’s degree. And it was all thanks to the Carole Robertson Center for Learning.”
Today, LaTonya serves as site director at the Center’s North Lawndale flagship site, where she is able to provide that same encouragement to others.
“I had a lot of positive people that impacted my life, and being here, I can give that back. The cycle is still going.”
For LaTonya, the cycle is the heart of the Center: children, families, and educators learning from and investing in one another. Her own journey — from Center parent to educator to site leader — is an example of what can happen when people are given opportunities, supported in their growth, and encouraged to keep moving forward.
After nearly a quarter century of growing with the Center, LaTonya is helping create those same opportunities and resources for the next generation.
Inspired by LaTonya’s journey? Your gift helps someone else write their own.
Your gift makes stories like these possible.
