Some Information About Crisis Nursery

One really great community organization in Champaign that I don’t think we’ve talked about is Crisis Nursery. They are an organization located near OSF in Urbana that provides free childcare and resources to families who are struggling. Crisis Nursery is open 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, and requires no fees or income eligibility. They also have a 24 hour crisis line to help parents with anything they need. The main programs that Crisis Nursery has are Safe Children and Strong Families. The Safe Children program includes childcare and the crisis hotline. The Strong Families program aims to provide long-term resources for families and plans helpful programs. I think the fact that they tackle both short-term and long-term solutions is great and is the best way to truly help people.

Another thing that is really great about Crisis Nursery is that they have a very open policy on who can receive help and why. On their website, they say that, “a crisis can be any situation placing stress on a parent,” including parental stress, sudden illness or hospitalization, domestic violence, inability to cope, homelessness, mental health, and many others. I think this policy helps people feel more welcome and makes it easier to ask for help.

There are lots of ways that you can help their mission if you would like to! They accept monetary donations, as well as donations of materials that the Nursery needs. You can find the wishlist here. You can also apply to volunteer for their Safe Children or Strong Families Programs here. One fun thing that they do is a Holiday Shop around Christmas time, where kids in the community can go to shop for gifts and then wrap them in festive bags. I have really fond memories of going to the Holiday Shop when I was little, and all of the profits go to the Nursery.

I think Crisis Nursery is a really great organization, and you should definitely check them out! For more information, you can go to their website.