Youville Centre is thrilled to celebrate 35 years in the Ottawa community and to announce expansion plans for 2020 which will allow us to serve 15 more toddlers in our childcare!
“For 35 years, Youville Centre has positively impacted the lives of two generations; young mothers and their children, by providing innovative programs and services such as High School education, social services, parenting support, mental health treatment and quality early learning and child care.” Bev MacKillop, Executive Director.
The planning for this project started 2 years ago when the City of Ottawa Child Care and Community-Based Early Years Capital Funding was made available from the Ministry of Education, with the following objectives, for this funding allocated by the Province and the City;
- To support purpose-built new construction and new addition and/or retrofit and renovation for the licensed child care sector.
- To support high priority and/or under-served Ward(s) within the city of Ottawa in order to address demands, decrease wait times and increase access to high-quality affordable child care programs and services.
Youville Centre’s proposed expansion project has met the above criteria. In addition, the Centre consistently demonstrates an understanding and compliance with the provincial guidelines, aligning and supporting the objectives and scope of licensed child care programs and services. As a result, the City has granted our expansion project and has provided us with the seed funding of $515,000 to begin this sizable undertaking. This represents a significant portion of the expansion project budget; however, plans are underway to begin fundraising for the remaining portion of the required budget for this project. To date, St Philip Parish in Richmond, has donated towards this project, and the Annunciation of the Lord Parish in Gloucester, has already fundraised and donated $20,000 towards interior furnishings and supplies for the new child care space.
Currently, the Child Development Program is licensed for 55 children. Once the expansion is completed, the Centre will have increased capacity to 70 children.
“Youville Centre is grateful for the City’s continued partnership and contribution that will allow us to expand our services by the addition of a toddler program. This will enable us to increase access to our services and reduce waiting times for an additional 15 children aged 18 – 30 months. In this unprecedented time, as we prepare to resume services to our vulnerable population, the additional space will also help promote physical distancing as we aim to serve the most clients able within the guidelines of our local health unit.” Diana Fairbairn, Child Development Program Manager.
We have come a long way since Sister Betty Ann first opened the doors to Youville Centre 35 years ago. Our growth would never have been possible without the generosity of donors and community leaders. Thanks to you, we have built this Centre into what it is today – a safe space for both young mothers and their children to grow and learn.
If you would like to learn more about how to contribute to our expansion project, please email Alison Holmes, Development Officer development@youvillecentre.org or call 613.231.5150 x128. If you would like to donate online to the expansion project, please visit our Canada Helps page here. Our plan is to recognize all donations of $100 or more towards this project on a plaque in the Centre.
We are excited for this new chapter in the Youville story, and we look forward to taking this journey with you by our side.