It takes a village to raise a child, which is why the Altona and Area Family Resource Centre has been around for two decades, says board member Dorothy Braun.

"We started 20 years ago with one drop-in program happening in downtown Altona, to this point where we are running multiple programs in Altona, Rosenfeld, Gretna, (and) Emerson," Braun said. "We are trying to make sure we reach as many children as possible."

In honour of the centre's 20th anniversary, a team of volunteers dedicated a year and a half to preparing 325 literacy bags to give out to children at selected organizations. The season-themed bags include two books, learning activities, colouring pages, and crayons.

These bags will allow children to continue learning even when they are not able to participate in the centre's other activities if their parents are busy or working, something that has become an obstacle over the years, Braun said.

"I think it's becoming possibly more difficult for parents to get kids to programming because parents are extremely busy and we recognize that, so we're always looking for ways now to provide opportunities for them to drop in with their children for maybe an evening event or something like that," she said.

The centre has also expanded the number of trained facilitators to meet the rising demand.

Looking ahead, the centre plans to explore programming that appeals to fathers and children, because right now there is none.

"We are working right now with partners in the communities to see what that might look like," Braun said.

The Altona and Area Family Resource Centre is a charitable organization run by a volunteer-based board that provides programming for children specifically between the ages zero to five.