Buy fresh baked goods, art to support child care

Treasures such as child-made artwork, wrapping paper, greeting cards and baked goods will be for sale in the Park Blocks this Wednesday. The sale will take place between Smith Memorial Center and Neuberger Hall from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Little hands, and some big hands too, went into making the goods. Their sale will help support the Helen Gordon Child Development Center. This tradition has gone on for the last 21 years.

Mothers who were students at Portland State University brought childcare to the campus in 1971. The center began small but quickly grew. The Portland State Daycare Center was renamed the Helen Gordon Child Development Center in 1974. This name change was in honor of the late Helen Gordon, an advocate for the early childhood community and who was instrumental in bringing childcare to the university.

According to the Helen Gordon Child Development Center Web site, www.hgcdc.pdx.edu, the center now serves 130 children aged 18-months to five years old. The center maintains full enrollment and has a continuous waitlist numbering over 300 families.

The Center is Portland State University’s toddler and preschool program and laboratory.

Helen Gordon Center serves two purposes in this university. The Center serves as a childcare center and also serves as an academic laboratory resource. The Center invites participation by University faculty and students in the fields of early childhood education, child and family studies, psychology and related fields.

The teachers at the Center are professionals in early childhood education and have appropriate degrees and experience. In addition, the teachers train students to work with young children and serve as model teachers.

The Helen Gordon Child Development Center is located at 1609 S.W. 12th Ave.