Tampa YMCA to Break Ground on Layla’s House

From the Tampa Metropolitan Area YMCA:

YMCA staff, city and county elected officials, and other supporters will gather at 11 a.m. Monday to celebrate the groundbreaking for Layla’s House, located at 1506 E. Eskimo Ave. in Sulphur Springs.

Layla’s House is an early childhood and parenting learning center that will provide a strong educational foundation to Sulphur Springs children and parents. From the time they’re born to the age of 5, children will learn the skills needed to enter Kindergarten and be successful at learning. 

The Layla’s House groundbreaking ceremony will happen nearly three years to the day that 16-year-old Layla Maria Chami lost her battle with leukemia. Layla loved helping moms and babies, and dreamt of becoming an obstetrician. Today, her dream lives on by helping children and families in Layla’s House. Committed to honoring Layla’s dream, her friends and family share their commitment to providing young families with a place where they can find the support needed to learn, grow and thrive.

Working with hundreds of parents and caregivers, Layla’s House will offer everything from child development workshops and parent support groups to parent-child literacy programs and child safety trainings. It’s the first step in ensuring every child in the Sulphur Springs community has the opportunity to learn, grow and thrive. 

Layla’s House is part of the Y’s Neighborhood of Promise efforts in Sulphur Springs. Early in the Y’s efforts, organizers recognized that many Sulphur Springs children were entering kindergarten unprepared. Layla’s House provides these youngest community members of the community with a strong developmental foundation critical to achieving future educational success.

The Y plans on opening the doors to Layla’s House during the first quarter of 2012.