Naramata Child Development Centre Urgently Needs $10,000 by Christmas

HELP NARAMATA CHILD DEVELOPMENT CENTRE MAKE FUTURES BRIGHT IN NARAMATA

Urgent Need to Raise $10,000 for the Childcare Centre by Christmas

The Naramata community has demonstrated tremendous character throughout the years, fuelled by the goodwill and resourcefulness of the people that call the village home. The collective effort to preserve Centre Beach speaks volumes to this. The Naramata Child Development Centre is now calling on Naramata to come together again, this time for the kids.

The Naramata Child Development Centre, which provides both daycare and before and after school care in the community, has been working on an extremely lean budget for decades. The Centre remains heavily dependent on grants, donations and volunteer hours to support the needs of kids and families in Naramata. As the only childcare provider in the Community (providing before and after school care, as well as Playschool), the Centre has played an essential role in Naramata for over 40 years. Over the last 10 years, The Centre has faced increasing challenges recruiting and retaining qualified and licenced staff. The current labor market, the pandemic and a lack of affordable housing has made the problem worse.

In a nutshell, The Centre is now in a critical situation. A newly elected Board has done an amazing job in turning operations around. They have created a network of potential candidates to fill positions required to make the services financially sustainable in the long term. This also allows the Centre to better serve demand in the Community. But they need some interim help. The goal is to raise $10,000 by December 31st, currently 1/10th of the way there.

To bridge the gap and get the staff in place to ramp up services, the Centre needs approximately $10,000 to fund benefits, sick pay and vacation pay. They also need a person or two, with wisdom and time, to expand the depth of their volunteer board.

There’s two ways to help;

MAKE A DONATION by visiting https://www.naramatachildcare.com/fundraisers.html and click DONATE. Use the drop down menu to select “DONATION FOR PLAYSCHOOL AND KIDS CLUB” or buy a raffle ticket for a chance to win a night away at the Naramata Inn.

BECOME A BOARD ADVISOR
The NCDC is looking for experienced early childhood educators, or those with experience running a not-for-profit business. For more information please email vanmiddendorpwill@nullgmail.com to discuss goals and strategy for the independent, Not-for-Profit Childcare Centre in Naramata.

Media release and image provided by Krista Lochhead, Colley Communications.