The Boys and Girls Club of Central Vancouver Island has opened 40 new child care spaces in Nanaimo with funding from the provincial government.
The province gave $1.5 million from its ChildCareBC New Spaces Fund to renovate the space, buy large appliances, other equipment and a bus for the out-of-school care at the Great Futures Early Learning Centre, formerly called the Boys and Girls Club on Fifth Street.
The Boys and Girls Club provides transportation to the out-of-school care for no extra cost and fees for the facility are waived for families facing financial hardship. The centre also partners with Food Share to support families facing food insecurity in the summer.
“At a time where families struggle to make ends meet, the creation of more affordable daycare spaces has become a priority for early childhood educators and a necessity for many Nanaimo families,” said Leonard Krog, mayor of Nanaimo.
The centre also works with the Nanaimo Child Development Centre for anyone needing support for things like speech and language therapy or occupational therapy.
“Finding safe local child care can be extremely stressful for families,” said Doug Routley, MLA for Nanaimo-North Cowichan. “Investments like these are life-changing for everyone. These new child care spaces will serve our community well, and our government looks forward to creating more positive changes for families in the coming months and years.”
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Laura Brougham
