Formerly known as the Dolores Mission Women’s Cooperative, Proyecto Pastoral’s Early Childhood Education Centers began in April 1988 when a concerned group of mothers formed the neighborhood’s first child care cooperative. In response to the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986, the first early learning site was formed as a means for amnesty-eligible women to seek employment and relinquish their public assistance. Today, our two centers—La Guarderia and Centro de Alegria—provide quality free to low cost early childhood education services to over 100 toddlers and pre-school age children. The children and families served by our centers are residents of the Boyle Heights, East Los Angeles community.