Over the past five weeks, I have sifted through a lot of paperwork, photos, and newspaper clippings on a search for gold nuggets of CELC’s history. Fortunately for me as the prospector, my search thus far has yielded some excellent bits of treasure.

This week I have changed focus slightly to begin to think about possible marketing and branding strategies that translate these historical gold nuggets into a compelling, cohesive, and resonant narrative that capitalizes on CELC’s 125 year history at the forefront of early childhood education. After all, they were the first day nursery in Ohio and the 17th in the nation. The day nursery here in Columbus existed before 12 states had joined the union. CELC has been around longer than Arizona, South Dakota, and Idaho have been states. To me, that really puts it all in perspective. 

It’s exciting and illuminating to bring CELC’s forgotten accomplishments to the forefront again in a way that it useful to the current organization. All of the history provides an excellent opportunity to examine key themes that continue to underlie CELC’s work in early childhood education. As early childhood education again enters the national political education conversation, bringing their history to bear on that conversation and to influence it will be most useful. As CELC works to incorporate intergenerational programming into their curriculum, for example, they can articulate that the North Side Center had the largest Foster Grandparent program in its sector and also served as a host site for the Retired Senior Volunteer Program (RSVP). We even have a few excellent photos and newspapers clippings that illustrate senior citizens’ involvement with the child development centers. It’s marketing gold – CELC’s history strengthens the resonance of its current initiatives and activities.