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Storyteller Children's Center Website: http://www.storytellercenter.org
 Just imagine the tremendous trauma and chaos already experienced by the children at Storyteller Children’s Center, who are only 18 months to five years old. Their families are poor. They are homeless, living in shelters, cars, or other substandard, crowded conditions. Domestic violence and substance abuse are common. Nearly 70 percent are from single-parent households. Many of the children have significant special needs, such as behavior problems, delayed speech, and health troubles – problems that, if untreated, would only worsen over time.
 Through the latest research in neuro-science, we’re learning that helping these children is likely to be the best investment we can make in changing their lives and impacting the future of our community. The research shows that neglect and chaos can have a devastating effect on the physical development of a child’s brain and without intervention at an early age, the effects can be long-lasting. College or jail, warm relationships or poor ones, good health or a lifetime of illness, are all outcomes that are profoundly altered by how the brain develops in those early years. The good news is that with proper support and care, these children have a chance at a brighter future. The long-term benefits are significant, leading to improvements in health, cognitive and language functioning, social and emotional development, and school readiness.
 Founded in 1988, Storyteller Children’s Center provides quality, tuition-free early childhood education for homeless and at-risk children, as well as comprehensive support services for their families. The need for programs like Storyteller’s is great. An astonishing one in five children in Santa Barbara County lives in poverty and for every three children needing childcare, there is only one licensed space available regardless of ability to pay. For every child that attends Storyteller, another must be placed on our waiting list, which consistently ranges from 50 to 80 children. Our Campaign for the Future will allow Storyteller to establish a second school and meet the needs of the children and families on our waiting list who we are not currently able to serve.
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