The Kiddie Sunshine Centre’s new daycare facility is nearing completion. Board chair Laura Wiebe says if everything goes according to plan they’ll be in operation by October.
“Right now they’re doing the final site work, such as the parking lot and parent drop-off loop, as well as playground surfacing, fencing, and sandboxes. The building is pretty much complete, so we’re into the phase where we’re moving in furniture, and getting some of the rooms set up.
“We’re grateful to our board vice-chair Nicole Friesen, who has been organizing volunteers to move items out of storage and help set up furniture and all the little things that go into preparing a room to welcome new children.”
On Aug. 12, board members and volunteers spent the day putting together playground equipment.
“It takes many hands to see a project like this through to completion, so again, we’re grateful for the continued support of our member families and the community at large that’s been incredibly supportive and helpful,” Wiebe says. “We wouldn’t be able to be at this stage without the support that we’ve had.”
There’s still plenty of work behind the scenes as the centre prepares to start by opening two infant rooms with 16 spaces, three pre-school rooms with 48 spaces, and one of the school-age rooms with 15 spaces.
“It’s tremendously exciting,” Wiebe says. “We’ll be moving over our current member families from the Rhineland Child Care Centre that’s currently operating out of the Border Land School Division office first, as well as onboarding about 50-60 new children on top of that.”
She says she is grateful to Kiddie Sunshine Centre director Patty Klassen, who has worked hard recruiting and training staff.
“Having the properly trained early childhood educators with the ratios that are required to open these licensed spaces is not an easy thing to find, particularly in rural areas, and she’s done a really great job at making Kiddie Sunshine Centre an attractive centre for people to come to work. We’ve had a huge number of our current staff come as childcare assistants who have decided to go back to school and get their designations while working with us.”
The board is also in the process of contacting families that are on the waitlist to provide updates on when they can expect spaces to open up.
“We appreciate the patience of those who are on our waitlist. We are reaching out and doing our best to provide updates on when we expect to be ready to welcome your children to the centre.”
The new facility will provide 118 childcare spaces in total.
“So that’s taking over 20 spaces that were previously operated at the Border Land School Division office, and then adding 98 new spaces to the community,” explains Wiebe. “In addition to that, there are current plans to continue operations at the Centre Ave. location. We’ll be adjusting the programming that we’re offering at each location to best suit the current needs in the community.”
Financially, Wiebe says things are right on track.
“As we near completion, more and more bills become due, and funds are in place for the construction of the centre. But with grants, it’s sometimes about timing. Some of the generous donations from the community are multi-year contributions, so it’s a bit of a balancing act in terms of when those donations come through.
“We are continuing to do some ongoing fundraising for material and program needs, and to add to our outdoor playground. We used what we had in our budget to create some of the permanent items, but we also dedicated a significant portion of those funds to the playground surfacing. We wanted to make sure it was durable. It’s all turf and rubber to ensure we could make it an accessible playground space for all children.”
Meanwhile, Wiebe says fundraising will continue for extra supplies and toys. The centre will be running another WestJet fundraising raffle in October.
“Otherwise, we’ve been able to do things within budget. We’ve prioritized safety and are mindful of how we’re allocating the money for the long term.”
Looking back on all the effort and commitment it took from their staff and the community at large to make this dream a reality, Wiebe says it feels great to see the end in sight.
“I’ve been on the board since 2018, and it’s always been a conversation about what we can do to expand. Initially it was about how to make this happen at our current location, and then realizing we need to go bigger here and not just find a band-aid solution for the needs right now, but to make sure we have the capacity for the growth of our community as well.
“We could not have done this without all our key sponsors, such as local businesses and the Town, who really made this happen. We’re so thankful. What a testament to what this town can do. Looking at the quality of care the children have received at the centre over the years and knowing that this will continue for the future of the community is just wonderful.”
