Community Partnership of the Ozarks introduced the Darr Family Foundation HUB at Springfield’s O’Reilly Center for Hope during a public open house on Thursday, Sept. 24. The project adds a 36-slot Kids Inn child-care facility and expanded partner space at the former school building, giving family-serving organizations more room at the East Dale Street site.
CPO scheduled the come-and-go open house from 9 to 11 a.m., with a brief program at 9:30 and light refreshments. Its August announcement described the gathering as a celebration of the new hub; KSMU later noted that renovations were still underway as the building continued its transformation. The center is at 1518 East Dale Street, in the former Pepperdine Elementary School.
The latest work includes 10 additional offices, replacement windows and a new playground, along with the child-care space operated by Kids Inn. CPO said the Darr Family Foundation, a Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education innovation grant, and the Musgrave Foundation supported the project.
CPO’s August announcement said the Kids Inn location would serve children from 6 weeks through 12 years, with full-time, part-time and hourly care and extended evening and weekend hours. The release said enrollment was open for the fall opening. The 36 places are the facility’s stated capacity; neither the announcement nor coverage of the opening gave a number of children enrolled or confirmed current openings.
The hub builds on a partnership announced in April 2025, when CPO and the Darr Family Foundation described plans for an early-childhood center at O’Reilly. That release said the work would connect parents and child-care providers, offer parent education and bring additional family services into the building. CPO described the transition as a move from a primarily adult-focused site toward a family-centered model. Then-president and CEO Janet Dankert called the expanded approach a “one-stop shop” intended to make help easier to access. The Darr Family Foundation also described plans to strengthen referrals among on-site agencies and connect families with child care, health care, parent education, case management and housing. Those are the project’s aims; providers continue to run their own services. The September open house marked a later step in the effort, including facility improvements and the Kids Inn child-care center.
The partners serve different needs. KY3 reported that the hub connects housing, health-care and education resources, and named Parents as Teachers, the Ozarks Area Community Action Corporation and Women, Infants and Children among organizations associated with the site. The available reports do not describe every provider’s schedule or eligibility, so the list is best understood as a network of services rather than one combined program.
At the ribbon cutting, KSMU reported that dozens of people attended and quoted CPO vice president Amanda Coleman on the value of bringing support and relationships together for families. The station said Coleman thanked the Missouri Department of Social Services, Springfield Public Schools, the Doula Foundation and the Greene County Health Department, among others, for their partnership. That account documents the collaborators behind the hub while leaving each organization’s specific role distinct.
CPO also said its monthly Parents Café is already taking place at the center. It gives the hub a recurring parent-engagement offering alongside child care and the service providers. The earlier CPO plan described parent education and connections between parents and child-care providers as part of the project’s goals.
The changes altered what happens at the address as well. KSMU reported that One Door and homelessness services formerly housed in the building moved to New Day, a day shelter near downtown Springfield. Those services continue from another location, while the O’Reilly Center’s expanded space now emphasizes child care and family support.
For families, the most concrete additions are Kids Inn’s stated 36-child capacity, the playground and expanded partner offices. The open house marked completion of the listed improvements; KSMU reported that broader renovations continued. Families seeking care or other help will need current details from the provider they plan to contact.
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