HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY, Fla. — For over a hundred years, the Rosa Valdez Day Care Center in West Tampa has been a positive force in the community.
"Grown men and women who now have children of their own in this neighborhood have attended this center and they know it's a good place for their kids," Cathy Stone, Executive Director of Cornerstone Family Ministries, said.
We caught up with Stone in January. She told us she's seen her students and staff be put in danger more than once and her efforts to keep them safe haven't stopped.
"Our priority is keeping our children safe and so that they can learn and they can have a better life," Stone explained.
In 2020 a shooting came too close for comfort to the playground. It ended with bullet casings lining the playground and a bullet lodged in the center's fence. It's why Stone continues to try and raise money to put up a bullet-resistant wall outside the center.
"Each time there's been a shooting, we've done more and more on our own to improve security. So we've installed cameras. We have a security plan. Every teacher has a walkie-talkie," Stone added.
But Stone needs help. Those security measures cost money and Stone said without this daycare, there'd be a void in the community.
"It would end 130 years of a legacy that's in this neighborhood that has been the one constant, safe place where everybody can say that's a good place," Stone said. "Children in this neighborhood deserve a really great center. Families in this neighborhood deserve a really great one."
The Cornerstone Family Ministries has an annual Wonder Walk/Run fundraiser. The event will host 700+ virtual participants from the Greater Tampa Bay Area. All proceeds will go toward early learning scholarships for 0-5 years old's.
Stone told us she doesn't want to take funds away from scholarship funds to help with security measures.
Their website has details on how to sign up.
