The Child Development Club embodies inclusion and diversity.
The club’s mission is to bring together students and community members with an interest in fostering the growth and development of children in their communities.
“We try to hold as welcoming a space as we can, not just for our student parents,” club president Alondra Ortega, 21, said.
While all types of students are welcome to join, the club hosts events that are focused on student-parents.
“It’s not just for people who are new students. We try to make sure that we provide support for [student-parents] as well,” Ortega, said. “A lot of our events center around making sure our student-parents on campus feel like they have a place.”
The club has 60 members this semester. Many of them are child development majors like Ortega, or have a general interest in working with children in the future.
Vice President Tajanee Busbee, 25, said that the club emphasizes community. They host playgroups for children ages 0 through 5 and their parents.
Playgroups are a special time when children can bond with their caregivers and allow parents to form a tight-knit community.
The club goes beyond serving its community through nurturing and caring for children. For Evelyn Piña, 21, who is the club’s social media coordinator, it serves as a second home.
“There are a number of reasons why [the club] is special. The main reason is the love and support, and how caring everyone is,” Piña said.
Piña said other clubs aren’t as involved in making sure members are okay.
“We have meetings just to check in on how we are doing, and it really has been an amazing opportunity to be part of this club,” she said.
The club was founded in 2017 by then student Morgan Weber. Over the years, Weber has seen the club grow, and now brings her child to club events. She has been the advisor since the club started.
Ortega said the club is funded by the school but is still planning to hold fundraisers to support expenses.
In the future, they hope to bring back events such as open mic nights where they talk about current events and how they relate to child care.
Busbee said that the Child Development Club serves as a refuge on campus where students become friends, and friends become family.
“[The Child Development Club] turns into a family over time and brings people together,” Busbee said.
The Child Development Club meets every Monday from 5:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. in the Behavioral and Social Sciences Building, Room 100 and are also on Zoom.
This semester, The Union’s Arts Desk will have a short feature on various student clubs at El Camino College. “Clubs on Campus” is a series where club representatives and members will talk about what their club is about, how it got started, who the members are, what their activities for the semester are and how they plan to finance the activities.
