Layla’s House 10-Year Anniversary

Celebrating 10 years of serving families

For the past 10 years, Layla’s House has been a vital resource for the Sulphur Springs community, offering playgroups, workshops, developmental screenings, community activities, and support for parents and caregivers of children aged 0-5, as well as for expectant moms and dads. Layla’s House was founded in honor of Layla Chami, a teenager who spent her life fascinated by babies, children, and pregnant women before passing away from leukemia in 2008 at age 16. Inspired by Layla’s dream of becoming a doctor and helping moms and babies, her parents, Maria and Tawfik Chami, set out to create a center that would carry on her legacy.

Layla’s House opened its doors on February 14th, 2012. Layla’s parents, dear family friends, and Florida Medical Clinic wanted to perpetuate Layla’s memory, personality, and dream through a “living” memorial to celebrate her. Since opening day one decade ago, Champions for Children has provided an ever-expanding range of parent-child learning opportunities and family support programs all under one roof, at no cost to families. The Tampa Metropolitan Area YMCA, which facilitated the purchase of the land and construction of the property, remains a steadfast partner to this day, while the Children’s Board of Hillsborough County provides primary funding for services at the site.

This past Saturday, we celebrated with a fun community event including activities for families, goodie bags, books, and sweet treats. Check out the video to see how we spent the day and hear from some parents expressing how Layla’s House has impacted their family’s lives.