WYNOT, Neb. -- In the heart of Wynot, a village known for its tight-knit community and stellar school system, a crisis struck in May 2022 when three in-home childcare providers closed their doors, leaving many families in a bind.

In true Wynot spirit, a group of seven devoted residents rallied together in July of 2022. With the help of Cedar County Community for Kids, the Wynot community members formed a non-profit called the Bow Creek Area Learning Center to address the childcare shortage.

With help of donated property by Jim Hans, a generous local community member. The Bow Creek Area Learning Center proposed a childcare vision costing 1.9 million dollars. 

"We have come up with the $1.9 million number because we are looking at the cost of construction," Bow Creek Area ELC President April Heimes said. The cost of filling the interior as well as having 1 to 2 years of sustainability to pay our employees."

They also gave three different forms of child care that would best benefit the town of Wynot. 

"The center based child care, which involves a larger center and gives each age group individual rooms," Heimes said. "Then you have the in-home, which is a licensed provider who works out of their own home. The third model is an in-home two model, which was why we chose in-home two."

"We're looking at that model because it just fits a smaller community a lot better. You don't have to be in the residence that you live in, but you can actually build a facility without painting it. This will give us two employees to 12 children, and there would be two sides opening up 24 spots."

The new facility will be built as a duplex sharing multi-purpose learning room, serving, community activities, learning, events, and enrichment programs. It will house outdoor activities and exploration. Kids will have a fenced in play area encouraging movement, creativity, and social activities. 

During the Wynot meeting, advisors emphasized three important factors a community must understand. What it means for child development, what it means for communities to recruit and retain residents, and how businesses or employers can keep their employees.

"If a town has great childcare services, there is going to be more available work, " Wynot Public School Superintendent Paul Hans said. "We want to bring good teachers in too. We want to bring in people that want to stay in the community, and having access to early childcare is critical to keeping people around here."

"So, I think it's going to lessen that stress level of, we want to start a family, but who are we going to bring in to help us get to that point. 

 

For more information or a chanced to donate to Bow Creek Area Learning Center, call 605-553-2922