For the past seven years, author and retired teacher Ashley Margoles has served as a member of the child Care Committee, the all-volunteer advisory group for the OUR Child Care Center.

“I cherish the friendships I have made with the dedicated people who also serve on the committee,” Margoles said.

Longmont’s Outreach United Resource Center, known as the OUR Center, helps those with short-term hardships meet their basic needs and move toward self-sufficiency. The center assists families with children who are residents of the St. Vrain region.

Margoles is the author of the book “Now I Know My ABC’s,” which she uses to help parents learn ways to help their children with school readiness during parenting classes she teaches at the OUR Center’s Child Care Center. Proceeds from the sale of the book are donated to the center’s operation. The book is a compilation of reading-readiness and early literacy activities.

In addition to her gift for teaching, Margoles is a talented artist and decorator. She has designed characters to decorate the walls at the center, decorated at Christmas time, helped with classroom environments, rearranged furniture in the lobby area and added decorative touches throughout the building.

Margoles feels challenged to bring as many of the skills and resources she has available to help ensure the center’s continued success. “I have been pleasantly surprised and amazed by the extent of the inner workings of the OUR Center in general, both at the basic needs aspect as well as the high quality of day care it offers,” she said.

“Ashley is a very organized person who can bring order out of chaos,” noted Jean Werner, director of child care at the OUR Center. “Most recently, she used that organizational ability to assist the OUR Center in celebrating its 20th anniversary by sifting through countless news clippings, pictures and memorabilia to put together a lovely scrapbook history of the OUR Center.”

For information about volunteering with OUR Child Care Center or other agencies, call the Volunteer Connection at 303-444-4904, or go to our Volunteer Central.