Exciting News: UCCC, LUME and YIN Officially Merge!

Youth In Need and University City Children’s Center (UCCC) announced today that the two organizations have officially merged operations. This comes after Youth In Need and UCCC agreed last year to move forward with combining their early childhood education services. Since then, both organizations have been integrating services and merging administrative functions. UCCC and the LUME Institute will become a part of Youth In Need’s Early Learning Programs, which covers five counties and St. Louis City.

UCCC will continue serving children from across St. Louis with its unique and inclusive curriculum, as it has for 55 years. UCCC’s sister organization, the LUME Institute, will maintain its innovative teacher training programs that serve the region and beyond.

Melissa Tureaud, Youth In Need’s Vice President of Early Learning Programs said, “We are so excited to have arrived at this point. UCCC and LUME have built a remarkable culture of learning that is so intentionally focused on the social-emotional development of children. The goal is to continue that legacy of serving families and children in the best way possible: with incredible staff and an unwavering commitment to nurture children through inclusive, innovative, high-quality care and education at UCCC and across Youth In Need’s early learning programs. We’ve been friends for so many years. Now we’re family.”

Youth In Need and UCCC have been partners for more than 15 years. In 2010, UCCC became one of Youth In Need’s Early Head Start partners, enabling UCCC to offer 16 infants and toddlers the center’s top-notch education at no cost to low-income families. As a regional Head Start and Early Head Start federal grantee, Youth In Need has been working closely with UCCC ever since. In addition, Youth In Need has been a returning customer for LUME’s professional development expertise, having sought out the Institute’s teacher training for its own staff multiple times over the years.

“Every child deserves a future filled with empathy, joy, love, compassion and trust,” said Chris Miller, UCCC Board President. “We are excited to join Youth In Need in sharing those values with more families across the region. It’s a win for St. Louis and beyond. But most importantly, it continues to put children and families first. We are not only better together but stronger, too.”