Hastings day care center spells safety for youngest residents

LINCOLN, NEB. (March 27, 2008)—CD Week recognizes and highlights the importance of the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program.  The 2008 Community Development Week theme “CDBG: On the Right Road” offers communities the opportunity to celebrate successful projects and champion the program, which for the past 30-plus years has made communities stronger.

Since 1981, the Children’s Ark Day Care Center in Hastings has provided quality child care for families, even when the 60-year-old building in which it was housed could no longer keep up with the demands.
The community as a whole, including the day care’s staff and parents, came to the stark realization that the Children’s Ark Day Care Center along with its staff and precious cargo needed to move—and soon—to a safer, more modern facility.  Although the building was not originally intended for use as a day care, it had worked until the challenges of inaccessibility, energy inefficiency and structural deterioration became predominant, and the building was no longer able to pass the State Fire Marshal’s inspection.
In 2004, the city of Hastings applied for and received $250,000 in Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funding from the Nebraska Department of Economic Development (DED) to build a new Children’s Ark Day Care Center to be located on the grounds of Good Samaritan Village. The Good Samaritan Society matched the grant with $395,320 from a variety of sources.
The new 7,800-square-foot day care center and preschool was completed and doors opened for business in October 2005. Designed specifically for child care, the building features a drive-up/drop-off area at the main entrance and is handicapped accessible throughout. The building’s modern heating and cooling systems are far less expensive to operate.
The Children’s Ark Day Care Center provides child care for the workforces of more than 100 businesses in the community, before and after school care, and transportation for the school system. The initial CDBG funding had a snowball effect on the project, leading many more people to donate and ultimately leading to the day care’s construction, and preventing the loss of child care services for more than 150 families and over 100 businesses.
Hastings’ interest and drive, coupled with support from the Good Samaritan Village, Children’s Ark Day Care, and DED’s CDBG program ultimately resulted in smooth sailing for this worthwhile project.    
The National Community Development Association initiated National Community Development Week in 1986 to remind Congress of the importance of the CDBG program. The Nebraska Department of Economic Development administers the annual CDBG program funding for all communities outside of Omaha and Lincoln.

FOR INFORMATIONCONTACT
Patty Wood at 800-426-6505, 402-471-1559, or email: This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it