Grantees

Expands its afterschool services to include the elementary school populaiton (third and fourth grades) at the St. Albans City School due to the increased demand and popularity fot he program.

A program targeted for pregnant and parenting teens to assist them in earning their high school diploma or GED and also to gain job skills.

In 2018, the Randolph Early Childhood Education Task Force, a group of volunteers of the Randolph Reenergized Economic Development Task Force (R3 Task Force) formed and focused on increasing affordable access to high-quality childcare services in Randolph and eight surrounding towns. In continuation of that effort, in 2020, the Town of Randolph did a survey for economic development future goals. The top response that resulted from that survey was the need for childcare with a 80-90 infant to pre-school capacity. The Randolph Early Childhood Task Force, through a Community Development Grant from the Agency of Commerce and Community Development (ACCD), hired a consultant to do a needs assessment across nine towns in Orange and Windham counties. They also assessed potential sites for a Randolph childcare center. According to a January 2020 report, it was determined that Orange County as a whole needed an additional 288 infant spots, 93 toddler spots and 213 preschooler spots to meet current and future demand. In 2022, a collaboration between White River Junction-based Green Mountain Economic Development Corp (GMEDC) and OCPCC allowed the project to move forward and for GMEDC to purchase the roughly 10,700-square-foot building at 1538 Vermont Route 66 in Randolph to renovate and house the childcare program, while the Tunbridge-based OCPCC was designated to run the program. Proposed to serve between 80 and 90 children, ranging from infants to preschoolers, it was scheduled to open in the Summer of 2022 at a cost of about $3M. Due to delays and increasing construction costs after the COVID19 pandemic, the center is now scheduled to begin renovations in late summer 2024 and begin serving children in July 2025.

Our early childhood program serves 60 children from seven towns in the Northeast Kingdom. We strive to get our students outside everyday, and some of our playground equipment has been here as long as the program has - almost 20 years! Our custodian, who is a certified playground inspector, is removing two of our play structures, as they have reached the end of their lifespan. This grant will benefit our students by providing safe gross motor activities during outdoor play time. Additionally, our playground is often used by families during our family events, providing developmentally-appropriate equipment options for our youngest learners and their siblings.

A program to reach out to families who may be in need of childcare.

Orleans/Northern Essex Early Childhood Council

Otter Creek Child Center is a full day, year round, non-profit early care and education center. We welcome approximately 51 children, ages 6 weeks to 5 years, and their families. Grant funds will be used to purchase new gross motor blocks that will benefit the young toddler room, to help with physical development. The children in this room are very active! They are now learning how to move their bodies in different ways. Currently, the Otters are working on experimenting with different ways of moving in a purposeful way with control. This includes walking up and down stairs while alternating feet and climbing up and down playground or indoor equipment. New equipment will help the Otters to improve and develop their gross motor skills.

Expand staffing and material support of the teen center's programming during out of school time and expanded summer hours.