On September 8, 2003, Sunbeam Station Child Care opened its doors and hearts to the Manchester Community. Many years earlier, St. Paul United Methodist Church had done a survey of the communities surrounding the church. People were asked to share the greatest need of the community and to be specific in ways that St. Paul Church could better reach out to their neighbors. The need for quality child care stood out far above all other needs.
A visioning committee was appointed to study the feasibility of child care at St. Paul. As a result, church members voted to add an addition to the church which would increase the room for Sunday School outreach and provide Christian child care for the surrounding area. Before breaking ground, an in depth study was done that included researching the needs of children, coming up with the best design for the rooms, and meeting with licensing representatives at Central Region Day Care in Harrisburg, to find out what was specifically required to start and maintain a quality child care facility. Other area child care facilities were also visited to learn more. With God's guidance, the facility was completed, passed the inspection by the Department of Labor and Industry and our license to operate was approved in time to open on September 8, 2003.