1969
A group of churches on the South Side see a need for income-based child care. In order to fill this need, they found Helping Hands Day Care Center, a nonprofit that will one day become Cornerstone.
1974
Just five years after its founding, Helping Hands becomes a United Way of Greater St. Louis partner agency.
1984
Helping Hands receives accreditation, becoming the first early childhood center to do so in St. Louis.
1993
After 24 years of caring for children, Helping Hands transitions to Cornerstone Center for Early Learning. The name change reflects the organization’s expansion into the field of early childhood education.
1995
Cornerstone Center for Early Learning moves to its current home in the Shaw neighborhood, at 3901 Russell Boulevard, and begins serving infants and toddlers.
2007
After purchasing the building next door, Cornerstone’s capacity exceeds 150 children.
2019
Cornerstone celebrates its 50th anniversary as well as major gains made in the organization’s administration, fund development, and programming over the course of the past decade.
2021
Cornerstone’s Certified Outdoor Classroom is unveiled. The naturalistic play and learning space features playscapes and greenhouses that can be used for digging, climbing, dramatic play, and building areas. It also contains water, music, and art stations as well as a bicycle path, mud kitchen, story walk, and more.