In 1971, two local volunteers – Dorothy Fleegler and Frances Cohen – saw a need among the low-wage laborers and farmworkers in the area for a safe and affordable place for their children while they worked hard all day to provide for them. This place needed to be special – a place of love and enrichment, where these children could begin to pave their pathway out of the generational cycle of poverty. They envisioned a future where every child, regardless of their background, could rise above and achieve their potential, building a strong and vibrant community for us all.
Click each decade to view our major accomplishments for that decade.
1960s
1970s
1980s
1990s
2000s
2010s
2020s
1960s
- In 1968, community volunteer and tutor Dorothy Fleegler saw the plight of low-wage earning families and began to mobilize her friends to provide help.
- Fleegler recruited fellow volunteer and philanthropist Frances Cohen, and together, they formed a woman-run committee called the South County Neighborhood Center.
- Also in 1968, Virginia Snyder, a celebrated local investigative journalist, arranged for the South County Neighborhood Center to be run out of local churches. She also reported extensively on local educational inequity to raise awareness and funds for the program.
- That same year the South County Neighborhood Center preschool opened with 22 children and saw immediate and impressive results.
- In 1969, Fleegler and Cohen recruited prominent local philanthropists James and Florence Fuller to the cause.
- James Fuller agreed to donate the lead gift of $150,000, which today is equivalent to $1.3 million, and asked that the center be named after his wife.
- Also in 1969, the first-ever contract for federally subsidized child care in Florida was signed in the Fleegler home.
- Fleegler would later serve as the first President of the Board, and then go on to be a nationally recognized advocate for early childhood education among low-income populations.
1970s
- In 1970, construction started on the new center on ground leased from the city at $1 per year for 50 years
- On March 1st, 1971, Florence Fuller Child Development Center was officially incorporated as a 501(c)3 non-profit.
- At this point the South County Neighborhood Center split, with Fuller Center having its own campus for the children, and The Volen Center having its own campus for the elderly.
- In 1974, the Dorothy Fleegler Nursery opened, serving 30 babies, and was dedicated by civil rights champion and Florida Governor Reubin Askew.
- Also, in 1974, a latch-key program for after-school children and a 10-week summer camp program were established.
- In 1975, Fuller opened a thrift shop to help support the operations. The thrift shop would remain a fixture in the East Boca Raton community until 2015.
- In 1976, Fuller sponsored the area’s first child development conference, hosting Florida State Senator and future Governor Bob Graham as the keynote speaker.
- Fuller was on the map as a progressive thought leader and trailblazer on early childhood education and development.
- In 1977, the National Advisory Council on Education for Disadvantaged Children under President Gerald Ford presented an award to the Center for Outstanding Achievement.
1980s
- In 1980, Fuller overcame a battle that could have been the end of the Center.
- An attorney sued the City to eliminate Boca Raton matching funds to Fuller Center.
- Board members, volunteers, donors, staff, and families showed up at City Hall to protest the potential loss of funding and the looming closure with the potential of a lack of funding.
- A vote was held, and Fuller won its right to retain City funding by just 212 votes.
- This was a wake-up call to the community about the importance of supporting Fuller Center.
- In 1982, Florence and James Fuller spearheaded the funding of the Dr. Samuel Fleegler Preschool Building, which today is the VPK building at the East Campus.
- In 1986, the Dorothy Fleegler Annex opened and housed 100 school-age children and created a larger nursery space.
- Also, Palm Beach County granted a deed to Fuller Center for land in West Boca for the construction of a West Campus.
- In 1987, Fuller Center and Dorothy Fleegler received recognition from President Ronald Reagan and First Lady Nancy Reagan for the Center’s contributions toward early childhood education and substance abuse prevention.
- In 1989, the West Campus officially opened with its first building serving 30 infants.
1990s
- In 1991, the West Campus celebrated the opening of the David S. Stone Preschool for 242 preschoolers after a $500,000 gift.
- Also, in 1991, the Center started a staff training program to ensure valued older staff members had the official training and credentials needed to stay employed.
- In 1992, Fuller became the first subsidized childcare center in the county to receive accreditation from the National Association for the Education of Young Children.
- As raising tuition on families was not an option at the time, the Center hired its first Development Director.
- In 1993, Palm Beach County funds for subsidized child care dried up.
- To avoid closures, the Center requested and received Head Start federal funding.
- The West Campus would follow in 2007. Fuller Center participated in the Headstart program until 2023.
- Also in 1993, the West Campus’ afterschool and summer camp programs grew with a new building.
- In 1996, the Center held a ball celebrating its 25th anniversary.
- Also, First Lady Hillary Clinton visited the East Campus and commended the program and staff.
2000s
- In 2002 the Fuller Center Foundation was created for financial stability.
- In 2003, Frances Cohen donated $250K to build the East Campus Administration Building and named it after her late son, Roy Cohen.
- In 2004, Harold and Mary Perper donated $250K to open a health clinic at the East Campus, which was intended to help parents not lose income or jeopardize their jobs by missing work when their children were mildly ill.
- This was the first clinic of its kind in the state of Florida, and remained open until 2013.
- In 2008-through-2010, longtime community supporter the Junior League of Boca Raton took on a three-year commitment to renovate different areas of the Fuller Center.
2010s
- In 2011, Fuller celebrated its 40th anniversary.
- And, Harold & Mary Perper made a $1 million lead gift to construct what eventually became the West Campus Perper Learning Center.
- In 2012, Fuller Center welcomed new CEO, Ellyn Okrent.
- In 2014, the East Campus had to close the infant nursery for a year due to lack of funding, re-opening shortly after.
- Also in 2014, the Center received a $100K Impact 100 Award to open the much-anticipated Family Empowerment Program.
- In 2014, the Center publicly launched a capital campaign to raise $4.5 million for the West Campus Perper Learning Center and other much-needed renovations.
- In 2014, the Fuller Center acquired the Boca Raton Children’s Museum, which remained an affiliate of the Center until 2019.
- In 2015, the Center formalized its Volunteer and Mentor Program.
- Under the new Family Empowerment Program, the Center formalized its network of partnerships with more than 50 fellow community nonprofits and formalized its partnerships with local universities for internships.
- In 2018, the Perper Learning Center opened its doors.
2020s
- In March 2020, COVID-19 hit. Fuller Center initially lent classroom technology resources to students to learn at home.
- By June, Fuller Center re-opened.
- School Away from School started, providing space and supervision for children who could not go to school due to distance learning policies… allowing their parents to return to work.
- This program was the precursor to the Fuller Academy!
- Later that year we earned a feature on The TODAY Show as the model for how schools and childcare centers can safely re-open during Covid.
- During this time, teenagers began showing up on our doorstep – they were hungry, lonely, and needed help with school. This led to the creation of our Teen Leadership program which now serves nearly 160 teens.
- In 2021, Fuller Center celebrated its 50th anniversary
- A rebrand emphasized that we are so much more than child care – we are ALSO family care and community care.
- The East Campus renewed its 50-year lease agreement with the City.
- The Wee Dream Ball celebrated 50 years by raising a historic $1 million.
- Both the City of Boca Raton and Palm Beach County released proclamations celebrating Fuller Center’s golden anniversary.
- Also in 2021, we opened our private choice elementary school, Fuller Academy.
- The Academy launched with 12 children and now has 64 for the current school year!
- In 2022, due to a nationwide childcare staffing crisis, Fuller launched the Workforce Development Initiative, providing apprenticeship and on-the-job training opportunities to new employees seeking careers in child care and early childhood education.
- In 2023, Fuller launched the Intergenerational Program in partnership with The Volen Center.
- This program has united both our agencies for the first time since 1971
- In 2024, Fuller Center once again earned an Impact 100 Award, this time to benefit the Teen Leadership Program.
- Also, in 2024, we formalized a partnership with Palm Beach County Schools to offer adult ESOL education for our staff and families.
- Additionally, we opened our Health & Wellness Room, offering services to help parents, staff, and volunteers manage stress and improve mental health.
- We also just recently became accredited through APPLE for the West Campus and we are on target to be accredited at the East Campus soon.
