As more women started working outside the home, child day care and after-school activities became critical. In the Seattle area, El Centro de la Raza (The Center for People of All Races) stepped in to provide this. In 1974, El Centro opened a bilingual day care program in the basement of Beacon Hill United Methodist Church. The center, run by Lucia Rios, had four teachers and took in some 22 children from all parts of Seattle. The program was popular, and El Centro was already looking for larger facilities. As of 2026, bilingual child enrichment programs continue to be an important part of their mission.

Here, program director Lucia Rios reaches out to help Terrez Wier come up the steps of the building. Rios had spent 10 years as an educator before coming to the United States from her native Chile.

Caption information source: “A Touch of Home, a Hug and Kiss,” by Judi Modie, Seattle Post-Intelligencer, September 29, 1974, pages D1, D6.