Expanding Early Care and Learning in Clear Creek County, a nonprofit located in Idaho Springs, recently received a $50,000 grant from the Buell Foundation aimed at providing long-term solutions to childcare issues in the county.
The Buell Foundation is “a professional philanthropic organization supporting the positive development of children through grants and partnerships with other sectors of our community,” according to its mission and values statement on its website.
“The Foundation focuses primarily on the state of Colorado and concentrates its grantmaking on programs that benefit children,” the statement continues.
The EECL is a local non-profit organization started by volunteer board members in 2021, according to its President Pamela Marsh.
The volunteer board members have expertise in early childhood education and mental health, community engagement, strategic thinking and research and data compilation, according to Marsh.
The EECL mission statement is to increase quality, affordable, safe and supportive environments in all early childcare and learning settings to promote development and create nurturing relationships for young children, as stated by board members including Marsh, Vice President Carla Pokrywka Cole and Caitlin Morris.
“The Buell’s support allows us to create a county-wide action plan, helping us reach our goal of expanding accessible and affordable early childhood education,” EECL Secretary Jessica Tribbett said.
The grant money will initially serve to hold meetings to answer questions about the future of childcare in the county, according to Tribbett.
“To get numbers and metrics, goals and timelines but the base range is going to be the dollar amount,” Tribbett said. “How much are we (EELC) going to need to provide supplemental scholarships to families to bring childcare down to 5-10% of a family’s income.”
“We are a community without childcare options, which is very much not a solid community as families are forced to move to other areas of the state and country in order to support their families while trusting their children are safe and supported emotionally,” Marsh said.
The EELC effort to bring affordable childcare to Clear Creek County is operating as former county commissioner Mitch Houston moves forward with another plan to provide early learning in Building 103 in Idaho Springs..
The Early Childhood Education Center at Carlson Elementary School is an effort Houston has championed for several years, according to reporting by the Clear Creek Courant
Mountain Trails will be the name of the early learning center.
“I still have a financial gap that I’m trying to fill, but I have some opportunities to fill that gap,” Houston said.
The goal is to open Mountain Trails in Carlson in 2026.
Houston said the two groups share a common goal.
“That goal is getting all of the children in the county in an early learning program. When they show up for kindergarten they thrive as opposed to struggling,” Houston said.
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