Cincinnati Early Learning Centers, Inc. (CELC) is a nationally accredited, non-profit, United Way agency managing six childcare centers throughout Greater Cincinnati. The centers provide quality child care for children ages three months through eleven years. CELC began contracting with the United Way & Community Chest in 1983 and became a United Way agency in 1991. The corporation became the first non-profit agency in Cincinnati to have all of its sites accredited by the National Association for the Education of Young Children. All setting a standard of excellence for those in the childcare field, the centers of CELC provide a developmental and constructivist approach to education while greatly valuing its diverse clientele.
CELC, Inc. was founded in 1981. Acknowledging a desire to serve a greater diversity of clients, CELC applied for and received non-profit status in 1983. From here, the single childcare center eventually expanded to six centers, each named after the community in which it was located. CELC, Inc. became the umbrella name for the agency. A board consisting of parents, early childhood professionals and community members joined together to manage this non-profit agency. The centers opened in the following order: Harrison (location of original site – 1980), East Walnut Hills (1983), Walnut Hills (1991), East End (1995), Westwood (1997), and the YWCA (2006).