WIZO runs 183 day care centers throughout Israel, caring for 14,000 children ages 3 months to 3 years. The new Nazarian Center will have four classes, with more than 100 children.
For the Nazarian family, WIZO's longstanding history of early childhood care was a central consideration in its philanthropic decision."Research has shown that the investment in children between birth and five years old is critical, and that if you start that young, the rest of their lives will be a path to success," Dr. Nazarian reportedly said in her remarks at the ceremony. "This facility, and the staff and teachers who are so loving, are the insurance policy of the future of the State of Israel."
The alliance between the Nazarian Foundation and WIZO is the culmination of a relationship going back to Israel's earliest days, in the 1950s, when the Nazarian family matriarch, Goldbahar Aviva Chachami Nazarian – know to everyone as Ima (mother) – volunteered in WIZO medical facilities after making aliyah to Israel from Iran.
The center will feature a bronze sculpture of the family matron with an inscription telling her story, made by Soraya, giving the children a second "Ima."