May 25, 2025
For more than 24 years, Yolo Crisis Nursery has served families in every corner of our county, providing nurturing care for at-risk children and wrap-around services for their parents in crisis.
On Thursday, May 8, we celebrated the opening of Yolo Crisis Nursery’s new home, an event that signaled new beginnings for the children and families of Yolo County. On behalf of Yolo Crisis Nursery’s Board of Directors, I would like to take a moment to publicly thank the generous supporters who made this dream a reality.
What began over five years ago as the Brighter Tomorrows Campaign has resulted in a 9,000-square-foot home that will enable us to triple the number of vulnerable children we serve, providing the care they need while their families access critical resources to help them strengthen and heal.
We are profoundly grateful to the tribal leadership of the Yocha Dehe Wintun Nation, our naming sponsor, whose generosity and support continue to be instrumental to our success. Our new home is called Pabe Wile, “New Beginnings,” a place of renewal and hope for children and families.
The dream of a new home would not have been possible without the generous gift of a one-acre parcel of land donated by Blue Bus LLC for the express purpose of expanding our life-changing services to meet a growing need.
The new facility has truly been a public-private partnership. We received over $3 million in public funding, which was critical to our campaign’s success. We would like to recognize and thank Assembly member Cecilia Aguiar-Curry and former State Senator Bill Dodd for their leadership in securing a $1 million appropriation through the state legislature.
We are also grateful for the early and ongoing support of the Yolo County Board of Supervisors. Finally, the City of Davis provided much-needed ARP funding and played a critical role in securing our land donation. Thank you all for making the children and families of our community a priority.
We want to thank the following contributors who provided leadership gifts to the campaign and continue to be sustaining supporters of Yolo Crisis Nursery: Sutter Health, Our Little Light Foundation, In-N-Out Foundation, First 5 Yolo, Johanna Anderson Trueblood Foundation, Kelly Foundation, Harvey L. and Maud C. Sorenson Foundation, Valente Foundation, William G. Irwin Charity Foundation, and Mohini Jain. We would also like to express our deepest appreciation to Jane Eadie and Becky Heard for their extraordinary leadership and unwavering support. Their compassion, creativity, and determination have touched every part of this project. Without their contributions, we would not be celebrating the opening of a new, larger home.
Jane served for two terms as President of the Board of Directors prior to agreeing to serve as the Chair of the Brighter Tomorrow’s Campaign. Through her genuine passion for the Nursery and her shared vision of a new home, Jane championed the fundraising for the new building.
Becky has been involved with the Yolo Crisis Nursery since it opened it’s doors in 2001. As Director of Development and Community Relations, Becky was both a partner in the capital campaign fundraising efforts and instrumental in promoting the Nursery’s mission throughout our community.
We are also incredibly grateful to the countless community members who generously supported our Baby Shower Registry efforts, helping to completely furnish our new nursery with thoughtfulness and generosity. Your kindness helped transform this space into a welcoming and nurturing environment for the children we serve.
Lastly, a remarkable 87 gifts were received from generous corporations and individual donors. These impactful gifts helped us reach the finish line. As we move forward, we’re excited to expand our services to meet the evolving needs of our community. Our new home allows us to introduce critical programs, including supervised visitation services, a Father’s Support Group, a Homeless Outreach Program, and employment readiness coaching and support for clients. These additions reflect our deep commitment to addressing the root causes of family crisis and helping parents build stable, healthy futures.
While we have worked hard to build this one-of-a-kind facility which enables us to care for three times as many vulnerable children in Yolo County, our annual budget will also double. The continued generosity of Yolo County’s communities is more crucial than ever to help us expand programs, hire new caregivers, and serve more children in need. If you feel inspired to support this next chapter, we invite you to consider making a gift or volunteering your time as every contribution, big or small, makes a lasting impact.
To learn more or get involved, follow us at yolocrisisnursery.org.
We are forever grateful to all of you for your support and your belief in our mission to provide early intervention services in a safe environment to nurture healthy and resilient children, strengthen parents, and preserve families.
— Heather Sleuter is the executive director of the Yolo Crisis Nursery