Jane D. Kent/St. Nicholas Day Care Center (Philadelphia, Pa.)

The Jane D. Kent/St. Nicholas Day Care Center was formed in August 1961 by a merger of two independent day nurseries, the Jane D. Kent Day Nursery and the St. Nicholas Day Nursery of the City of Philadelphia.

The St. Nicholas Day Nursery was chartered in March 1910 to care for "young colored children of working mothers," many of whom usually came from broken homes. As late as the 1950s, most of the mothers worked as domestics. Beginning in the 1960s, many were employed in factory work. The nursery also administered programs for women and high school girls. Originally located at 265 South 10th Street, the nursery relocated in 1926 to 328 South 12th Street, and two years later it settled at 2218 Lombard Street, its most recent location at the end of this collection. St. Nicholas became an inter-racial day nursery in 1946.

The Jane D. Kent Day Nursery, established in January 1885, was originally located at 302 North 16th Street and moved to 1622 Summer Street as a result of the Vine Street widening project in the 1940s. Its goals were to provide shelter, food and care as well as religious instruction to the children of white-working class parents. Due to a declining number of children in the community surrounding the Jane D. Kent Day Nursery, the two day nurseries merged their services into the existing St. Nicholas facility in 1961.

The Jane D. Kent/St. Nicholas Day Care Center is a member of the United Way of Philadelphia and the Health and Welfare Council, Inc. The Jane D. Kent Day Nursery and the St. Nicholas Day Nursery were members of the United Way and the Health and Welfare Council's predecessor agencies. The nurseries were also members of the Philadelphia Association of Day Nurseries, of which the former was a founding member.

From the description of Records, 1886-1979. (Temple University Libraries). WorldCat record id: 122588878