The Catholic Club building was built in 1929 for a hefty price tag of $236,000 by the Knights of Columbus. However, the Great Depression struck our country, and the Knights lost their new facility to the bank. In December 1941, The Diocese of Toledo purchased the building during a bank liquidation for just $12,500 and opened in 1942.
In 1956, Bishop Altar approved the purchase of the adjacent property which included a one-story building which was the original Auto Club as well as a brick two story house. The motto as it opened was “Open Indeed Regardless of Creed.” As was then, we are still and have always remained open to everyone.
Msgr. Jerome Schmit was the leader of the Catholic Club for over 38 years and well respected in the community. He became one of the most respected priests in our Diocese. The Club was home to CYO basketball and volleyball games, football weigh-ins, youth group gatherings, TCCY events, community meetings, wedding receptions and much more. At his retirement in 1980 over a 1,000 people attended his retirement party. While we lost Msgr. many years ago, his spirit of caring for the youth of our community lives within the Catholic Club staff today.
The Catholic Club is an organization of the Diocese of Toledo positioned under the department of Catholic Charities. We are financially independent from the Diocese however fall under their umbrella.
The Catholic Club has two main areas of programming: Child Care and Aquatics/ Recreation.
We currently offer quality, educational childcare for children 6 weeks-12 years. We have earned the prestigious NAEYC accreditation three times. This accreditation is earned by fewer than 8% of childcare centers in the United States. In addition to this national award, we have earned a GOLD rating through Step Up to Quality, Ohio’s quality rating system. This is the highest award possibly through SUTQ. We have Early Head Start classrooms for children ages six weeks to 36 months, Infant/Toddler Club Classrooms, Head Start and Hope Toledo Classrooms for preschool and PreK children, and after school programs as well as summer camp for school aged children.
We are blessed with lots of space, both indoors and outdoors. Our children are able to participate in many enriching activities including field trips into the community (starting at age 3) swimming, gym games and outdoor play. All children ages three and older have the opportunity to learn to swim, free of charge while they are in attendance during the day.
In addition to teaching the children in our childcare program how to swim, we also offer swim lessons that open to everyone in the community beginning with infants and toddlers in our parent/child classes all the way up to adult lessons. These lessons are for all swim levels from beginner to advance. We are very proud to be able to say that we have taught thousands of children to swim over the years. We also offer open swim and gym times for families to enjoy recreation at no charge.
" My children have grown in so many ways since they have attended the Catholic Club. My son's speech and manners have sprouted and the children are learning to socialize with other children. With them attending this program my work schedule has become a breeze and my children love the staff. They talk about them even at home. We love the Catholic Club and the staff".
Ms. Jackson