Betty L. Krebs – owner and operator of Tender Years, Inc. – has and always will be passionate about providing Central Pennsylvania with the best early childhood programs! As a working mother of two children who are nine years apart, she was lucky to have a neighbor watch her oldest child. But after becoming a mom again a decade later, she found that things had changed drastically! And realized how difficult it was to find quality child care, and that more and more mothers were entering the work force.
Always a go-getter, Mrs. Krebs decided to take matters into her own hands. She decided to take her daughter to work with her! And help provide a quality early childhood program for other working mothers like her at the same time! She used her business background and her mother instincts to guide her every step of the way!
Betty gave birth to her third baby, Tender Years, Inc. in 1983, at Chapel Hill United Church of Christ in Camp Hill, Pennsylvania. After two successful years at Chapel Hill, the facility relocated to the Rite Aid Capital Corporate Center in Camp Hill. While at the Rite Aid Headquarters, a Department of Education, Certified Kindergarten Program was implemented. Tender Years, Inc. remained in the Rite Aid Corporate Center, until relocating across the street to the current location at 203 House Avenue in Camp Hill.
As Tender Years, Inc. continued to grow and thrive, Hershey Foods Corporation contacted Mrs. Krebs in hopes of opening a corporate child care center for their employees. In 1985, two centers opened in Hershey, Pennsylvania. One center was located in a house across from the chocolate factory, and another in the Church of the Redeemer on Chocolate Avenue. These centers remained in operation until July of 1993, when Mrs. Krebs unveiled her new Hershey center and the current location at 50 East Chocolate Avenue.
Both of Mrs. Krebs’ child development centers are licensed and regulated by the Pennsylvania Department of Public Welfare. In addition, both centers are licensed by the Pennsylvania Department of Education, and are participants of the Pennsylvania Keystone Stars Program. Most importantly, however, they are nurtured and run with tender loving care by Mrs. Krebs and her family.