I love this daycare! My son has been going to Happy Hearts since he was 3 months old and now he is…read moreone year. Mari really cares about each kiddo and loves what she does. Mrs. Elena and all the other employees are sweet as can be and very attentive and caring. They love seeing my son everyday, and when we don't take him ask where he is and how much they missed the little guy. They speak to him in Spanish most of the day and he always is very happy when I go to pick him up. Highly recommend : ) Veronica B./Registered Dental Hygienist and Nutritionist

The staff is so friendly and they really work together to make sure the children are taken care of…read more It seems that all of the teachers know my daughter and love on her. They are open for long hours which is convenient for trying to balance school and work. The location is incredibly convenient with easy access from South Congress or I-35, Buda, South Austin, etc. They're flexible, recognizing and meeting specific needs of different personalities of the kids. For example on the mornings I have to drop off early for an early class, my daughter cries more, she's tired, and wants human contact. I often see one of the teachers pick her up to comfort her. My daughter is really learning so much there. I'm constantly amazed at how much she knows in terms of vocabulary, songs, motions, and she isn't even 2 yet. It means a lot to me that she is growing up hearing and learning to recognize English and Spanish as well. It seems they're always cooking something up when I get there and it smells great. I know my daughter is eating well there and everything is made with care. The owners even made a delicious brisket and sides from scratch for a Mother's Day luncheon. They're so thoughtful and help with the whole development of my child. I can't say enough good things about them.

Background Information: This organization offers housing for women and children who have…read moreexperienced homelessness. Some, not all, participants come from Domestic Violence situations, however, this is not a battered women's shelter. Their website boasts about how wonderful they are, but I am here to tell you it is all smoke and mirrors. I lived at one of the two properties they own so I have first-hand knowledge of how they run the program. The housing program gets housing subsidies from the City of Austin, is a Rental Housing Development Assistance Programs, and has some affiliation with HUD. It's worth noting, this organization had ZERO policies in place for anyone with a disability, which is required by law for an apartment complex. They knew my son was disabled because it was on my application for housing and not once did they ask about what he might need accommodations for. My son and I moved into Saint Louise House's Program April of 2020, right at the peak of COVID. At the time I moved in, we had been homeless for a year, so I was excited to have my own place again. I was quickly disappointed when I found out it had an extremely bad infestation with German Cockroaches that they failed to tell me about until after I moved in. I was told that it was treated recently, but additional treatments could not be provided until businesses started to open up and I understood this. However, I would have preferred to postpone my move instead of dealing with the disgusting roaches for what lasted approximately 8 months. When everything started opening up, management finally got pest control to come in and spray, however, it was just a general spray, not the proper one you need for treating German Cockroaches. For quite some time, I continued to email management letting them know the general sprays were not working and provided numerous pictures of all the roaches. It was at that time I got an email from the then program director stating that Robin Kampermann, the operations director, wanted me to submit a video of the current roach situation because pest control "had just sprayed my unit." By this time, I had sent numerous emails documenting the issue and told her I was under no circumstances going to provide a video. The infestation was so bad, I ended up having to repack my kitchen because the roaches were in my cabinets, refrigerator and in our food. Roaches carry many diseases as well as feces as they travel so roach feces were on my countertops and cabinets, inside the cabinets, my baseboards, floors and wall. This created not only a major health hazard, but a major inconvenience to me and my son, but management still dragged their feet for getting the proper treatments and did not care about the health hazard this caused us. As a result, my son and I ended up having to eat out for EVERY meal which exhausted all my savings of $1000.00. Management did not care one bit and made no resolution to refund my money, despite having all my receipts. I continued to send numerous emails complaining about the roaches and nothing was done about it. I even contacted the chairwoman at the time, of the board of directors for the program, Molly Trexler, to complain and she told me the board did not get involved in such issues. My son, who is disabled, was traumatized by the rampant roaches crawling everywhere, including the walls and floors in our dining room and throughout our kitchen. I called the Austin Tenants Council to see what could be done and was told that it was a reasonable request to move to another unit due to my son's disability. I requested numerous times to move to another unit and was turned down. Management expected me to live in a unit that was a health hazard. Laura Ward, the Executive Director of the program told me it was against their policy to allow tenants to move. She accidentally sent me an email intended for other management employees, and she attempted to recall her email, but was unsuccessful. In this email she stated that she would no longer be responding to my emails regarding this issue and that they should help me relocate somewhere else. Robin Kamperman, the Operations Manager, and bully of the organization essentially refused to provide treatment despite numerous photos of the roaches and feces and email requests I sent. I literally had to raise hell and get the city involved to get this issue resolved. Finally, they got the pest company to do proper treatments, although I was thankful, it was a big inconvenience. All my cabinets had to be wiped down with a particular solution before each treatment and because the treatment was toxic, I could not be in the apartment for 3 hours afterwards. See photos for the rest of the review.

Vincare does great work for our community and everyone here at Integrity Moving is honored to do…read morebusiness with this wonderful foundation! If you know any mothers that are struggling and trying to make it on their own, please call this organization!

Every day I am more and more amazed at how caring,professional and sincere the teachers at…read moreMainspring School are. My granddaughters are both under three years old and look forward to going to school every day. When I pick them up they tell me they had a great day and they say that every day.

I love this place it has the best Teachers.Staff..and very structured days…read more I Love the commitment of the staff and the way the children are taken care of. The smiling faces of all the children is a great indicator of a great school.

I have had children at Stepping Stone for over two years. Both of mine started in the infant room…read morewith Ms. Lola, and I TRULY do not know what I would have done without her. My youngest started in her classroom earlier this year, and this time around, we had the pleasure of having her helper, Ms. Vita! They both light up when we walk in every morning and I genuinely feel like my children are loved by them in a way that I will always cherish and appreciate. You hear horror stories about daycares, but I am blessed to leave mine every day feeling grateful for the hands that are taking care of them while I work. Ms. Monica has also been a bright spot in my kids days, and I am excited for my youngest to transition to her care soon.

I've been pondering this review for about a month now, but I REALLY FEEL OBLIGATED TO WRITE IT TO…read moreLET THE PARENTS WHO HAVE CHILDREN ENROLLED THEIR, KNOW THAT I WALKED IN FOR A TOUR, AND WAS LEFT UNATTENDED FOR 45 MINUTES. I COULD HAVE WALKED OUT WITH ANY ONE OF YOUR CHILDREN....AND ALL BECAUSE I WAS DRESSED LIKE A STEPFORD WIFE. My spouse and I made an appointment to come and view the school. He took time off of work and we headed in at our selected time. We walked up to the school and piggyback in. Was not buzzed in. No one greeted us. We just walked in. We then sat there for 10 minutes and that's when a kitchen lady came out, and told us that the principal or lady who does all of the tours, was 45 minutes late. So we just sat there. Then I said to my spouse "You know what...I want to see something". I got up and walked around. No one said anything or asked me who I was. Another 10 minutes had passed and no one said anything. So I walked to where all the children were playing outside. They're corralled like animals in a fenced in playground, with about 50 plus kids of all ages in there. I opened the doors and stood there. I stood there for 30 minutes and no one said anything to me. The two younger girls (staff members) were on their phones chatting.....and I purposely stood right next to them to see if they'd say anything to me. NOTHING!!! Sooooo I turned around and went to find my spouse and told him. I said "this is not the school for us". Then the lady walked in who was supposed to give us the tour. She was all apologetic and I told her of the SECURITY BREACH, and she said she'd take care of it. Then she proceeded to show us around the school. Mainly the rooms for the 2.5 year olds. We went in and you're hit in the face with a URINE AND POOP SMELL. I just looked at my spouse. It smelt like a dirty animal control place, where they put 100's of unneutered stray cats. It was just gross. We were polite and finished the tour, but sincerely should have just left when she was a no-show. THIS PLACE IS SCARY UNSAFE!!! AND IF YOU DON'T BELIEVE ME.....GO AHEAD AND WASTE YOUR TIME. CHECK IT OUT YOURSELF. PS-To the staff and principal of the school...who will most likely write a response to this review......SHAME ON YOU!!! And I hope Child Protective Services pays you a visit. I will not change my review. I was appalled and your place is unsafe, unsanitary and disgusting.

I volunteered at Project Transitions one Saturday morning, and let me say that this was a very fun…read moreand interesting volunteering event. This organization is dedicated to helping low income people with HIV. A super great cause just because they lend a helping hand to those in need. Our volunteer manager was super polite and grateful for our work. Sometimes just working with the best people make volunteering so much better then it actually is. In this case it definitely was a fun experience. We helped to clean up the garden, rake leaves, and take out the trash. Overall, project transitions is great in terms of their service and how they treat their volunteers.

You don't have to be Bike Curious to get involved. No matter your orientation, Project Transitions…read morewill make you happy to give your money or your time. They have been creating FUNdraising events to support people living with HIV/AIDS since 1988, focusing their efforts on various forms of housing - Doug's House, Roosevelt Gardens, and Highland Terrace and Community Housing. This past weekend I participated in one of their fundraising events called Guess Who's Coming to Dinner and for a $100 donation, feasters have an opportunity to eat at one of many private gatherings of wonderful food and company. I had the most amazing meal experience at Gateway Guesthouse where Bess and Blaise hosted Mississippi Rising* -the conceptual idea for a meal that seemed to not end. We took a trip down the Mississippi, from Minnesota to Texas... which fits in nicely with my own personal history. The 2 hour meal was followed by dessert and drinks at Nest, with hundreds of dinner revelers from the many other amazing dinners around Austin. This was my first year, but I guarantee that I will do it again. In December, I was treated to their Holiday Swing party by a couple friends and participated in the Silent Auction where I was thrilled to donate a pile of money to PT. In addition, they have a Texas Swing fundraiser and a Red Hot XX party at Oilcan's. They also operate Top Drawer Thrift Store, have a Bike Curious team for Hill Country Ride for Aids, and are a beneficiary of the HCRA. Project Transitions needs volunteers for a variety of activities for their residents and also for throwing these many events. Check out their website and see where your skillz and talents are a fit for an organization that truly makes a difference in Austin. *Michael Barnes was one of the 10 people at the table and wrote about the amazing meal at Austin 360 if you are interested in more details. I agree totally about the fried chicken, THE best I have ever had: http://www.austin360.com/blogs/content/shared-gen/blogs/austin/outandabout/entries/2012/02/05/mississippi_ris.html

When learning about this development center there was not much positive online. I went and talked…read morewith the parents during drop off one day and several of the families have been using this child care facility for generations. I have alot of anxiety about childcare and they always answer my questions or consider my feedback. The lines of communication are open. The rate for care is very reasonable for downtown Austin. It is not high tech there are no cameras but the center has large glass windows all around so I just pop by and see my baby and they oblige. They will also video call and or send you pictures of how they are doing. The most important thing for me is that my child is nutured and cared for in a positive environment. That's what I see everyday they sincerely care about him and he enjoys being there. Please reach out if you have questions.

We have been attending ECDC for over 3 years now since our daughter was 4 months old. I have…read morenothing but great things to say about this place! Mrs Hung has been there since our day one running the place as director. Then Mr Davis took over as Director last year and has been nothing short of exceptional. We have loved every teacher she has had through her transitions into the older classrooms. They potty trained her and have been teaching her all of her early childhood development milestones. If there is ever an issue that comes up we can speak directly to her teacher and resolve the problem. The tuition is very reasonable and they are open from 7AM-5:30PM M-F. they treat our daughter like family and we love them!

Austin Play Garden is the absolute best place to send your child! My daughter attended starting at…read more12 weeks old, and every teacher truly treated her like family. Hannah (the director), as well as all the teachers learned her quirks, personality, and interest as she grew up there. Through our daily updates and conversations, it was so clear that the staff really knew her and cared -- she was never just a number. They would even check in on her when she was out sick. I always knew she was safe there. I love that it's a play-based preschool, so the kids can learn through playing and crafts. APG was my only real "village" in Austin when raising my daughter, and they were truly a godsend. They also do a lot of things to reduce teacher turnover on the staffing side, so we hardly ever had teacher changes. I highly recommend them!

When I was pregnant I heard over and over again to "build your village". This was important to me…read morebecause we don't have any family in town. APG IS MY VILLAGE and I don't know what I would do without them. Our nugget LOVES to go to school. I'll say, "Do you want to go to school?" and he'll excitedly say, "School!" grab his lunchbox and run to the door. He comes home with new words and skills and it's so exciting to see him grow in a healthy and confident way. Thank you APG!! We love y'all!!

SMSC is the best-quality after school program we've ever come across. The people who staff this…read moreplace have been there for years and years and are so devoted to the development of kids. When we pick our kids up, there are always adults playing with kids - I mean REALLY playing, like sprinting around the playground with the kids and getting super into it. I feel like they truly understand the importance of play and are so committed. The SMSC winter show, which all the kids participate in, is also epic and a huge event in the community. There are a ton of teachers who work here who went to Spilled Milk themselves as elementary schoolers, which shows the lasting impact that it had on them-- they loved it so much they came back to be staff.

What a wonderful place for after school child care. Our relatives' kids go here and we are amazed…read moreat what a wonderful creative program it is. There is extensive planning of art, music, and field trips, including getting the kids involved. The location to the school across the street is too good to be true!! Your kids are treated lovingly and allowed to have a good time while learning to create cool things. Spilt Milk is awesome!