An area behind Child Care Network’s Child Care Center was transformed from a parking lot to a mulched play area.
Now, that mulch has been replaced by poured-in-place flooring, playground equipment and a grassy area in two separate fenced-in areas.
On Tuesday morning, with kids and staff members looking on, a ribbon-cutting ceremony was conducted on the newest addition to the center at 414 N. Chestnut St., Seymour.
“The last time we had a ribbon cutting, we didn’t have any kids, so this is way more fun,” Child Care Network Executive Director Kate Garrity said to the young kids before cutting the blue ribbon with white handprints to reflect the nonprofit organization’s logo.
Garrity thanked the Schneck Foundation and others in the community who contributed to the playground project, which cost nearly $200,000. Joining her in cutting the ribbon were some of CCN’s board members and Schneck Foundation Executive Director Stephanie Flinn.
“Thank you for everything that everyone here has done,” Garrity said. “Everyone has been involved and had their piece in it, and it has just been a great project to be part of.”
Following a round of applause when the ribbon was cut, Garrity told the kids they could play on the playground.
Before the equipment could be ordered, the funding had to be secured.
In late 2020, the Community Foundation of Jackson County received a boost on #GivingTuesday with news it was awarded a $1.8 million Large-Scale Community Leadership Grant from Lilly Endowment Inc. The grant, funded through the seventh phase of Lilly Endowment’s Giving Indiana Funds for Tomorrow initiative, helped CCN develop and operate a community child care center.
Dan Davis, president and CEO of the community foundation, said the grant provided $1 million to help remodel and furnish the building and $530,000 as stipends for low-income families using the center and endowed $270,000 at the foundation to provide operating funds for the Child Care Center in perpetuity.
Garrity said some funding from that grant, $30,000 from the Schneck Foundation and some CCN funds went toward the playground project.
Flinn said the Schneck Foundation agreed to provide a community match since the playground fits with the mission of improving the health of the community.
“Seeing this now through the transition from when you sit down and you speak with concepts and this is what we want to happen and this is standing here, to see what Kate accomplished, phenomenal,” Flinn said. “This is identify a need, fill the need, and we’re just thankful to be able to be a partner to share in that with them.”
She enjoyed watching the kids have fun on the playground.
“Look at these little faces,” Flinn said. “Our future is right here. It’s so fun.”
Garrity said the equipment was ordered from PlayPros in May 2022 but was on back order and was supposed to arrive in January 2023.
“Then you have to wait until it’s above 40 degrees on a regular basis to install, so it didn’t get installed until this spring, early summer,” she said.
In June, it opened for the kids to use. One side is for ages 2 and 4, and the other is for ages 4 and up.
“That way, our school-age kids, when they are here in the summer, they can play on it,” Garrity said.
There also is space in front of the building that is for ages 2 and under that has poured-in-place flooring but no playground equipment.
“We learned after we did this that they needed their own outdoor play space, as well,” Garrity said.
CCN made the playground a priority because Garrity said it’s a requirement for licensing to have an outdoor fenced play space.
“You don’t necessarily have to have the equipment and things, so when we opened, this space was mulched, so the kids could come out here. We wouldn’t have been able to open if we hadn’t had that,” she said.
She and the board also understood the importance of kids being able to run and play, be healthy and be outside.
“That’s how kids this age learn is through play,” Garrity said. “So just figuring life out and how do I get up these stairs and down the slide and things like that, it’s just a big part of development.”
Since the center opened in January, Garrity said the kids didn’t play outside much until the warmer months.
“It’s fun just to see the smiles and the laughs,” she said. “The infant-toddler one is right outside my office, and so when they are out there, not a lot of work gets done when they are on the front playground because their faces are up on my window and blowing kisses. It’s a lot of fun just to hear the kids in the building, to hear them outside just being able to be kids and run and play and have fun.”
The center can serve up to 145 kids ages 6 weeks to 5 years old.
“We have seven out of the 10 classrooms open, and we’re hoping in the next couple months, we’ll have all 10 open,” Garrity said. “We projected that it would take us over a year to get all 10 classrooms open, so we’re pretty excited that hopefully by nine months in that we’ll have all of the classrooms open.”
The first floor of the building includes a Kids Klub room, two classrooms for 4-year-olds, a kitchen and staff offices, including space for Jackson County Guardian ad Litem/Court Appointed Special Advocates.
The second floor has two classrooms each for 1-, 2- and 3-year-olds, two infant rooms and a multipurpose play area.