$30,000 over 3 years includes reno funding, coaching
Plans to begin a community daycare facility in the former Lutheran School building at Hampton got a big boost recently with the announcement of a grant that will provide $30,000 worth of funding and practical guidance over the next three years. The Hampton Day Care Foundation Board of Directors recently received word that the community has been selected to be part of Nebraska Children and Families Foundation Communities for Kids. The program is a state-wide initiative which supports young children, families and those providing their care.
Daycare board of directors president Tamara Wiens said Communities for Kids is a multi-year planning and implementation initiative that was created in response to community requests for assistance with shortages of high-quality early childhood care and education programs. She said the shortages impact children’s optimal development and also pose a challenge for communities hoping to attract and retain the viable workforce they need to thrive.
Wiens said the project will receive $10,000 a year over three years, but also will have the services of an experienced community coach who will help guide the board through the organizational process. Hampton’s coach is Shonna Werth, who Wiens said will attend the board’s meetings for at least the first year to provide guidance and help make decisions about budgets and spending priorities and will help the organization find other grants that are available.
“It is a great start,” Wiens said. “It will help us pay for the formation of the 501 (c) (3) (tax-exempt status), utilities that we’re already incurring with purchase of the building and then it helps us start some smaller projects that we need to get going, such as painting, some bathroom remodeling, things like that.”
Communities for Kids will also provide assistance and expertise to the community of Hampton with:
*engaging stakeholders in identifying the strengths and gaps of the current early care and education resources in the community;
*using informed decision-making to determine strategies for meeting the priority needs identified by the community and creating a business plan if needed;
*connecting with experts and research, best practices, implementation, quality measurements, financing, use of government/public resources and design, etc. and
*exploring and assisting with applying for all available sources of funding (private/public grants, public funding programs such as childcare subsidy, no- or low-interest loans, etc.).
Wiens says members of the board met with representatives from Communities for Kids on January 17th to take part in the orientation process associated with the grant. Discussion focused on community needs and goals for the proposed daycare project. She said the board is thankful to have been chosen as recipients of the grant, and is excited to move forward with the initiative that “will greatly benefit Hampton and the surrounding areas by providing high-quality child care.”
“Communities for Kids is excited to work closely with Hampton community partners using a collective impact approach to address their quality early care and educational needs,” said Werth. “With this approach, community partners will lead the way by determining their own needs and strengths while Communities for Kids provides support and technical assistance along the way.”
Werth serves as Associate Vice President of Early Childhood Programs at Nebraska Children and Families Foundation.
Wiens said beyond giving rooms in the building a fresh coat of paint which has already occurred, plans are in the works for the remodeling of some bathroom areas that are more child-sized and increasing the number of toilets in the building to meet regulations.
Last week ANR reported that the project had received a $2,500 donation from Southern Public Power District which will go to support the necessary renovations to the facility, and Wiens said more grants and donations are expected soon.
“We have applied for numerous other grants and we’re waiting to hear back,” she said. “We’re hopeful to hear in the next couple of weeks of some larger ones that will give us a huge boost and then also we are going to be working on doing some other fundraising efforts in the community.”