Phase 1 of the Stronger Together Capital Campaign prioritizes our youngest community members. The $10 million, 20,500-square-foot Early Learning Center (ELC) is expected to open by early fall, 2025.
The licensed childcare center will include three infant rooms, four toddler rooms, five pre-K rooms, one school-age room, a cafeteria/activities room, a gross motor skills room, a mentor/break/workspace room, a room for nursing mothers and meeting space, and a secure lobby.
The ELC will serve children with sensory needs by providing space, specialized equipment, and developmentally appropriate teaching, socialization, and individualized discovery approaches. For children of all ages and abilities, the existing focus on innovative and values-driven teaching will carry over to the ELC, where the new space will better support these efforts and community partnership growth.
The new ELC will be able to serve as many as 320 children.
Evidence indicates the region is in dire need of more childcare options.
From a financial perspective, the end of emergency pandemic funding has impacted thousands throughout Ohio, with parents having to choose between paying for childcare or working. According to the Hancock County Childcare Collaborative, which includes representatives from the Y, the Findlay-Hancock County Community Foundation, Findlay-Hancock County United Way, Blanchard Valley Health System, Hancock County Job and Family Services, and McComb Childcare, a one-child household pays an average of nearly $10,000 annually to their childcare provider. The coalition’s 2023 study also found that for every one childcare spot, there are approximately 10 children on a waiting list. It is estimated that 2,000 children ages 0-4 need full-time care.
The ELC is a strategic solution to this growing problem. It will accommodate more children and offer more subsidized care, ensuring that childcare is more accessible from affordability and enrollment standpoints.
Easing the burden on our caregivers and providing our community’s youngest with the most nurturing environment possible is a moral imperative.
During ELC construction, the Downtown Branch will remain open as will adjacent East Hardin and East Lincoln streets. Traffic may be impacted occasionally due to equipment and materials moving to and from the site.
Case for Support
The ELC will replace the YMCA’s 51-year-old Mary Brenner Child Development Center at 231 E. Lincoln St., which has aged out of its capacity to fully meet the needs of families. The CDC is not compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act; lacks flexible program spaces for youth development, educator learning, and parental accommodations; and requires navigating a busy intersection for access to the main facility’s amenities, such as its pools and gymnasiums, that CDC students enjoy and rely upon to build a foundation for lifelong healthy living.
At the new center, caregivers will enjoy additional parking with easier pick-up and drop-off logistics. Caregivers, as well as teachers and staff, will also benefit from a one-story, ADA-accessible structure, making stairs navigation a thing of the past. A secure layout will ensure a safer operational and learning environment. Also, abundant natural light, inspiring colors conducive to educational and behavioral growth, and creative structural designs will provide a more welcoming and engaging environment.
The ELC represents the first phase of our transformative two-phase Stronger Together Capital Campaign centered on community partnerships, growth, and enhanced well-being.
