$1.2 million grant will allow child care center to become a reality

It’s been a long haul, but with a recent $1.2 million grant awarded from Department of Local Affairs Energy and Mineral Impact Grant, the members of the Holyoke Community Childcare Initiative are finally seeing a glimmer at the end of what has been more than a five-year journey to establish a child care center in Holyoke. 

“This is huge!” said HCCI Project Coordinator Trisha Herman. “What this means is we get to make this long overdue community project a reality.”

The next steps in the process will be for the board to finish collecting approximately $117,000 in pledges of the $2 million raised locally and finish procuring bids for the construction, with groundbreaking hopefully to be in spring 2024, according to HCCI Board Chairman Tom Bennett. HCCI hopes construction will be done between one year to one and a half years after groundbreaking.

The facility will be located at 855 S. Worley Ave. in Holyoke, on ground sold by First Baptist Church for the project, Bennett said. 

Taking on a desert

Started in 2017 with a vision by several members of the Holyoke business community and community leaders, HCCI’s path to get to where they are now has not been easy or straight, Bennett said. This was especially so with COVID bringing it to a standstill for a while in 2020, he said. 

“We are very excited,” Bennett said Monday of the final approval for the grant, which the board was notified of on July 21. The city of Holyoke served as the applicant for the grant, since DOLA grants are awarded to municipalities only, he said. The city will also be required to own the facility for 10 years, with HCCI leasing the building and eventually taking ownership, Bennett said. 

Bennett said the completion of the child care center will mean more open jobs filled in Holyoke.

“We have a lot of job openings and people to work in the jobs, but because we are in a day care desert, those who want to go to work can’t because of the lack of day care,” Bennett said. “This center will help.”

The realization that Holyoke is in what the government deems a “child care desert” was established with a feasibility study in June 2018, prepared by Colorado State University. Acknowledging that although there are in-home providers in the Holyoke area, there are not enough spots available for the number of children needing child care, Bennett said.

According to HCCI’s business plan, the 11,500-square-foot building will be able to serve 100 kids from birth to school age and support up to 15 full-time jobs, Bennett said. At full capacity, HCCI will have two infant rooms with 20 children, two toddler rooms with 28 children, two preschool classrooms with 40 children and capacity for 20 after-school children.

While actual operating hours of the center have not been set, the idea is to serve working parents — roughly between 6 a.m. and 6 p.m. It will not be open in the evenings or overnight, according to Herman.

Along with the building effort, HCCI will begin the process of putting a qualified full-time director in place and lead teachers as well as entry-level jobs, Bennett said.

HCCI thankful for support

Herman gives a big “thank you” to everyone who has believed in the project and helped to make this child care a reality.

“A lot of people have been behind this project so we want to show our appreciation to all involved,” she said, “Especially to all who donated to this project.”

Herman also thanks City Clerk/Treasurer Kathy Olofson, Mayor Kevin Scott, City Superintendent Jeremy Thompson and the entire city council and staff, City of Holyoke, Holyoke School District Re-1J and Melissa Memorial Hospital.

Current HCCI board members include Herman, Bennett, Evan Fust, Krista Doble, Olga Sullivan and Tiffany Watson.

For more information about the child care center or the efforts, find HCCI on Facebook at www.facebook.com/HolyokeCommunityChildcareInitiative, or contact Herman at 970-218-4037 or holyokechildcare@gmail.com or Bennett at 970-854-2227 or tbennett@fpnb.net.