- Mon - Fri: 6:30 - 5:30
- (812) 424-4780
- info@stvincentelc.org
- EIN # 35-0869067
We are an accredited, Reggio-inspired early childhood education and care center. We are the longest-serving early learning center in the area. Since 1918, we have pursued excellence in our field while practicing our founding principles to elevate the least fortunate and most underrepresented within our society. As the second-oldest learning center in the state of Indiana, we have educated the children of working families for over a century. Since 2010, SVELC has upheld accreditation by the National Association for the Education of Young Children and maintained the highest level on Indiana’s QRIS, Paths to QUALITY™.
Our vision is to provide educational programs with a rounded curriculum that enables children to be ready for sustained success in educational progress; to facilitate access to programs and resources which help families address issues related to financial and social challenges to help them overcome barriers and move toward self-sufficiency; and to be a gateway to a holistic array of services through collaborative relationships with organizations in our community that assist children and families.
Living within the Vincentian Tradition, our Mission at St. Vincent Early Learning Center is to design intentional and transformative early education experiences, cultivate a community of learning and collaboration, and celebrate the individual dignity of all children.
Trustee 2021 – present
Trustee 2021 – present
Trustee 2024 – present
Trustee 2022 – present
Trustee 2024 – present
Trustee 2024 – present
During World War I, women began assuming roles in industry as men were called to military service, and they needed a safe and affordable way to have their children cared for while they worked.
The Ladies of Charity of Evansville responded to the need by establishing St. Vincent’s Day Nursery in 1918.
Within a few months of St. Vincent’s start, the Ladies of Charity were unable to accommodate the huge demand for service, so they appealed to the Daughters of Charity at St. Mary’s Hospital to manage the agency. While our founders, the Ladies of Charity, and our sponsors, the Daughters of Charity, are no longer directly involved in our day-to-day operations, their values continue to permeate our mission and passion for serving our community, and both organizations remain committed to supporting our work.
Today, high-quality early childhood education, along with affordable childcare, is more necessary than ever, given the rise in single-parent and dual-earner households, as well as the decline in state-provided financial support. And today, as in the past, St. Vincent Early Learning Center remains connected (a value in action) and faithful to addressing the care and education needs of our community’s families.
The Ladies of Charity identified the need for childcare for women entering the workforce during WWI. They focus on establishing a day nursery and host fundraisers to support it. Father Frances Ryves at Assumption Church offers the vacant house next to the school building for the day nursery’s temporary location. John Fendrich and his sister furnished and fully equipped the nursery. St. Vincent’s Day Nursery opened on November 18, 1918, with two employees and 17 children. Tuition is 10 cents per day.
John Fendrich and St. Mary’s Sisters of Charity purchase the old Kratz place at 517 Bond Street to serve as the new location of St. Vincent’s Day Nursery.
John H Fendrich and his sister, Mrs. Daniel McCarthy, give the Heilman Home, located at 611 N First Avenue, to the Sisters of Charity to be used as St. Vincent’s Day Nursery. $15,000 in renovations is completed, and on September 22, 1931, we open at the Heilman Home. Daily attendance averages 75 children.
St. Vincent’s Day Nursery is incorporated with the State of Indiana as a charitable non-profit organization.
Through Catholic Charities, St. Vincent’s Day Nursery becomes a member agency of the Community Chest (now United Way of Southwestern Indiana). In 1939, the total organizational budget was $9,800.
The carriage house behind the Heilman Home is converted into a playhouse. It is called the “John Laura Building” after John Fendrich and Laura McCarthy, who paid for its renovation.
St. Vincent’s Day Nursery held its very first Advisory Board meeting. Average attendance is 127 children, and the annual budget is $59,714.
The Heilman Home carriage house is demolished to accommodate the building of a new facility, which will contain classrooms, offices, and a kitchen.
St. Vincent’s purchases the Bristol Myers building (formerly the St. Mary’s School of Nursing). A major renovation is completed in order to expand services to infants and toddlers. Construction includes connecting the building to the center’s main building.
The organization is renamed St. Vincent Center for Children and Families, achieves accreditation from the National Association for the Education of Young Children, and earns a Level 4 on Paths to QUALITY, Indiana’s voluntary childcare rating system.
The Daughters of Charity / St. Vincent Center for Children and Families hires the first lay person to serve as Executive Director. Average enrollment is 140, and the annual budget is $2.1 million.
We celebrate our 100th Birthday and complete a rebranding to fully capture what our organization does. This includes our new name, St. Vincent Early Learning Center, and logo.
St. Vincent Early Learning Center (SVELC) is firmly committed to the concepts and practices of equal opportunity and non-discrimination. SVELC administers programs for children and families without regard to race, gender, religion, age, cultural heritage, marital status, sexual orientation, political belief, veteran status, national origin, disability, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state, or local law. SVELC is inclusive and will make reasonable accommodations based on needs and staff abilities to meet those needs.