The Big School That Would Capital Campaign

In June 2006, given changes to state codes governing childcare agencies, the state mandated that Children Unlimited, Inc., either dramatically increase the square footage of our special needs preschool and childcare center, or decrease the number of children who participate in our school by 33%.  That means that of the 60 children who currently participate in the integrated preschool and childcare program, 20 of them would be denied services, a particularly devastating blow as CUI is the only special needs preschool serving Carroll County, NH and Oxford County, ME.  Where would these children go?  Who would help these families?

Thus, in order to meet the state’s mandate and address the needs of local families CUI has launched an $850,000 capital campaign to build a new, state-of-the-art special needs preschool and childcare center.

Currently, CUI has purchased the half-acre lot adjoining our existing site and contributed $150,000 toward the new building.  A community member has also pledged $150,000  while our board has contributed $25,000, laying a foundation of $325,000 for our efforts.  Our goal is to fundraise 100% of the new building, or $525,000 in additional monies, so that we can continue our tradition of keeping organizational costs low and service offerings high.

In addition to increasing the capacity of the preschool and childcare programs, the new building will also enable us to provide several innovative new programs to better meet the needs of the community.  These include a diagnostic and treatment program for children with Autism Spectrum Disorders and a community resource room for parents and families of children with developmental delays.   Services such as these would be a huge boon to our rural community, where parents must often sacrifice an entire day driving to a major city in order to meet with a clinical evaluation team who must then attempt to develop a treatment plan for a program with which they are unfamiliar. Increasing service offerings will also provide new revenue opportunities for CUI, making it a win-win scenario for our community and our organization.

Anyone interested in assisting with the capital campaign is welcome to contact Children Unlimited directly, and ask for Jackie Sparks, our Executive Director, or Lisa Baumgartner, Capital Campaign Chair.  Contact information is below.