Gift to Endow Children's Center

Paul and Natalie Orfalea believe that quality child care is vital to the development of young children and the success of their parents. Last month, they announced a $2 million gift to the University Children's Center as part of the couple's ongoing commitment to early childhood education and to UCSB.

"By offering the highest quality early care available, students, faculty, and staff can confidently focus on their work and studies," said Paul Orfalea, the founder of Kinko's, an international chain of more than 1,100 stores which he started 30 years ago in Isla Vista.

Growing up, Orfalea faced many learning challenges. Through it all, he always had the strong support of his parents. "While everyone else around me made me feel incompetent, my parents offered continual encouragement. This gift is really a personal recognition that we are proud to be able to do," he said.

In gratitude for their generosity, the center has been renamed the Orfalea Family Children's Center at UCSB in memory of Al and Virginia Orfalea, Paul's late parents, Chancellor Henry T. Yang announced.

"We are proud to have the Orfalea family name permanently associated with UCSB in such a meaningful way," Yang said. "This is a marvelous and deeply appreciated gift to the dedicated members of our campus community."

The endowment will provide a permanent source of income that will enable the center to limit tuition, provide additional scholarships for low-income parents, and offer more parenting classes. Mary Ray, director of the center, said, "This generous donation will ensure that UCSB will provide a quality early care and education program for many years to come." Among the campuses of the University of California, the UCSB center is considered a model facility.

The Orfalea Family Children's Center at UCSB is the largest employer-sponsored care provider in Santa Barbara County for children between the ages of three months and seven years. Currently, 200 children are enrolled, and there is a wait list for admission.

Paul and Natalie Orfalea, who have two sons and live in Montecito, have been volunteer leaders and generous benefactors of the university for many years.

Orfalea, a trustee of The UCSB Foundation, said his family made the gift "as UCSB has long been close to our hearts; it is the campus where the first Kinko's began and, of course, living here we are extremely dedicated to the local Santa Barbara community."