“We’re so excited,” exclaimed Brenda Line, Family Ministries Director at the Salvation Army’s King Family Child Development Center (CDC). The site, home to an early childhood education center, after-school programs, senior programs and more, recently received a $40,000 Impact Fund grant from the Opus Foundation® to help them build a new playground for the daycare children, numbering between 60 and 70 kids each day.
The CDC has offered daycare since the mid-1990s, and their current playground had been showing a lot of age. After a review to determine whether they could just repair the equipment, it was determined that the safest and best method would be to replace the equipment. That’s where the Foundation came in. The grant will allow the CDC to install new playground equipment, turf and a complete outdoor learning center with intentional learning stations focused on nature, literacy and math and science exploration.
The new equipment will not only provide the children with a safe place to play but also with the type of playground that’s just not found in their neighborhood. With 95% of the site’s families qualifying as low income or falling underneath the poverty line, the new equipment will be a blessing to an area and children who need it. “The staff and children are all excited,” Brenda said. “This doesn’t happen a lot for us.”
The early childhood education center is four-star parent aware rated in Minnesota and has a goal of preparing all children to be academically and emotionally ready for school. During the last four years, 100% of children from the CDC have tested Kindergarten ready. The Opus Foundation makes grants to organizations in five focus areas, including early childhood education and youth development.
This new partnership with the Salvation Army is a great example of Opus’ continued tradition of supporting the communities in which we live and work. The King Family Development Center plays an integral role in the neighborhood and is just a few blocks from the Seven Corner’s project. We’re proud to be able to support the community of St. Paul with this grant.
The Opus Foundation is building community for a better tomorrow by supporting projects and programs that make our communities better places to live, work and raise families through grants to nonprofit organizations in the areas of early childhood education, youth development, workforce development, community revitalization and pressing/emerging needs. Read more about the Foundation's work.
Building Community in St. Paul with the Salvation Army
