Our Watts location continues to blossom into a community space! Last June, we celebrated the grand opening of Children’s Institute’s new Building on Success in Watts, lovingly designed by world-renowned architect Frank Gehry. Since then, CII has hosted many events for children and families, and our staff continues to offer them critical resources and support programs.

Creating a true community hub, a welcoming and accessible convening space, was one of the driving forces behind the Watts building project. That’s why we’ve made it easy to reserve space through the online Watts Campus Room Reservation page. Thanks to the Watts community’s support and our South LA teams cultivating meaningful partnerships, we are pleased to report that, in the past nine months, the building has welcomed more than 40 partner organizations and local groups that have held events, workshops or provided services.

If you happen to visit us, you might see young children and families from our Early Head Start program enjoying “toddler socialization,” or transition-aged foster youth attending office hours with the Children’s Law Center. Or, you might see a Digital Literacy workshop in partnership with EveryoneOn, CII Employment Collective’s Job Ready Bootcamps, and CII Reach Team’s Wellness Wednesdays.  Annual celebrations held at the campus include Gears for Kids, Winter Festival, College Fair, Prom2Go and many more.

Please enjoy some photos posted by our community partners embracing this amazing space.

We are so grateful to be able to share this campus with such passionate people, dedicated to serving their community. Our sincerest thanks to the generous donors and CII support groups who supported the Building on Success campaign, and to all of our community friends, partners, elected officials, businesses and neighbors, who make this a place for learning, connection and healing.