The Owensboro YMCA on Tuesday announced plans for its new child care center during the organization’s annual Young Leaders Luncheon, when they also awarded five recent high school graduates $2,000 each to put toward their college endeavors.
The annual luncheon honors students who have just graduated from Owensboro-Daviess County high schools and are heading to college in the fall. The scholarship is open to all students, and the main requirement is that the student aspires to make a difference. This year’s recipients were:
- Miles Baur, Owensboro High School
- Mason Estes, Owensboro Catholic High School
- Daniela Guido, Owensboro Catholic High School
- Emma Hardesty, Daviess County School High School
- Elyas Karimi, Owensboro High School
After awarding the scholarships, local YMCA CEO Tom Bontrager announced plans to open a child care center that will “make a difference” throughout the community.
“We’re going to offer low-cost, high-quality child care to the best of our ability,” Bontrager said.
He said that starting a child care center is hard, yet with the support the YMCA has received over the years, Bontrager knows it is possible. He also said that offering a child care center is necessary.
Bontrager referenced the importance of 3rd-grade readiness, saying the center will directly prepare children for that level of schooling.
He noted that the center won’t just be a place to educate young children. Bontrager said they also plan to teach and train the child care professionals to increase the number of that workforce throughout the community.
Bontrager said that having more child care workers in turn increases the number of children who can enroll at different facilities, lowering waiting lists.
“The difference of child care is that businesses are going to have better employees because they’re going to know that they have high-quality child-care,” he said. “It is going to change the workforce of this town.”
