As Maine recovers from the COVID-19 pandemic, Mainers can find solace in recent efforts of the state government to expand access to quality, affordable child care. With L.D. 1712 signed into law, our state’s working families will be provided with peace of mind as they return to work and boost the Maine economy.
The potential impact of L.D. 1712 hits close to home. Through state funding, the new law would enable the Boys & Girls Clubs of the Kennebec Valley (BGCKV) to open a new daytime preschool program, exponentially increasing the Club’s capacity to serve local children and families in general. This would be no small feat: The BGCKV, located in Gardiner, currently serves more than 1,200 members from six weeks old through high school, while providing tens of thousands of meals per year.
As a longtime supporter of the BGCKV, I have seen countless lives transformed by the club’s hard-working, compassionate staff. They truly care about the local community and our state writ large. Even at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, those staffers served 67% of families with essential workers. They are heroes.
However, in order for L.D. 1712 to fund the new daytime preschool program at the BGCKV, the club needs to successfully complete its $10 million fundraising campaign and open a new building that can serve three times more people. The current building at 14 Pray St. has reached the end of its useful life and requires much-needed attention, making the ongoing fundraising campaign vital for the BGCKV to build brighter futures for children and families across the region. While fundraising has been successful thus far, the BGCKV still has nearly $400,000 to go until the club can make that dream a reality. Only by securing funds for the new building would the BGCKV be able to apply for the funding of the daytime preschool program.
Children’s preschool years are key development years, as they expand their minds and work on their social skills. The new federally funded law allows for better partnerships for the Head Start program with other providers, providing greater access to children who need developmental services.
With its new building, BGCKV is positioned ideally to help children up to 5 years old. This means preparing them to become active, engaged members of society, leading Maine to a brighter future over the decades to come. We need to start building that brighter future now.
The importance of proper daycare applies to working Mainers as well. When employees can confidently delegate their child care to qualified providers throughout the day, they can focus on their own career advancement and their families’ financial security. Without adequate child care during the day, Maine’s workers are less-equipped to make much-needed contributions to the state economy, especially in light of the lingering pandemic. Hundreds of thousands of children in Maine require child care services, affecting millions of people in total.
By helping facilities like the BGCKV to better serve those children, we are empowering working families. Many of my employees rely on the BGCKV to be able to work, which is why G&E Roofing and the Elvin family are major contributors to the Club’s current capital campaign. But our job is not done.
While L.D. 1712 gives us much to celebrate, the Boys & Girls Clubs of the Kennebec Valley has not crossed the finish line yet. The club — and the countless Mainers it serves every day — need your help.
Norm Elvin is the founder and president of G&E Roofing in Augusta.
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