By MICHELLE  ADAMS / Community Columnist

University Baptist Church recently held its biannual Britches and Bows consignment sale, supporting UBC’s Child Development Center. From home décor and children’s clothing to strollers and toys, this shopping extravaganza had something for every customer.
Although only lasting three days, the sale takes several weeks of preparation, with volunteers and consignors preparing items for the several hundred shoppers who visit the sale.  This fall’s sale had more than two dozen consignors with almost 3,000 items for sale.
“Popular items during this sale were Halloween costumes and Christmas clothing,” UBC CDC director Andrea Jones said. “Children’s furniture is always the first to sell out, and ladies’ accessories are hot items, as well.”
At the core of this sale is the support for early childhood education.  University Baptist Church’s Child Development Center has been in operation for over 40 years.
“Licensed by the Alabama Department of Human Resources, the center blossomed from a single 4 year-old pre-school classroom into a full-service child care center serving children 6 weeks to 5 years of age,” Jones said.  “Each of our lead teachers has a Child Development Associate credential and creates weekly lesson plans for her classes.”
The CDC is in its eighth year of participation in Alabama’s Voluntary First Class Pre-K Program, which provides a grant to fund classroom materials, teacher salaries, field trips, parent workshops and tuition supplements.
The Britches and Bows consignment sale adds further support to the center.
“We’ve had people from Hoover, Maplesville, Clanton, Birmingham and Tuscaloosa shop our consignment sale,” Jones said.  “While this event raises money for our child care center, we have the opportunity to share with shoppers information about our child development program, our church and our community.”
The ever-increasing importance of early childhood education is a frequent news topic, as well as the pressure to have children prepared for kindergarten and their school years beyond.  University Baptist Church’s Child Development Center faces these pressures with grace and love.
“We have a commitment to serving our community,” Jones said.  “We believe it is a privilege to be such an integral part of children’s most critical years, from holding them as babies, helping them learn to walk, hearing them say my name for the first time and hugging them on their last day before their first day of kindergarten.  It is reading and writing, but also loving and developing children into fruitful citizens of our community.”
Look for the next Britches and Bows event coming in the spring of 2015 to support the endeavors of the UBC Child Development Center.