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Funding delays child development center

AUBURN – Right now, Shalom Odokara is a woman in need.

Which is kind of ironic since she’s the executive director of Women In Need Industries, a nonprofit organization dedicated to improving the lives of women through self-determination, critical thinking and self-reliance.

The source of Odokara’s concern: financing for an innovative project that would bring 53 jobs to the area and give women an economic boost.

The $3.2 million project proposes building a child development/community center on the corner of Rodman and Manley roads that would be subsidized with the profits from a WINI shipping/packaging center across the street. The packaging plant would distribute spices and wallets made by craftswomen from around the world for WINI.

“There is a huge need for what we’re offering,” said Odokara, citing a Coastal Enterprises study that showed a critical shortage of day care and child development services throughout the state.

WINI has already spent $120,000 on the project, purchasing land and having architectural plans drawn up for the center. But the recent downturn in the housing market meant banks that were willing to offer gap financing six months ago have stepped back, she said.

“We were going full speed,” said Odokara, noting they had hoped to break ground this fall. “Now we’re working hard to bring in funding … it’s been slow.”

To give it a boost, WINI is producing an infomercial that should air on cable stations such as Lifetime and the Travel Channel Oct. 15. WINI’s wallets and spices are promoted, as well as the group’s mission to help displaced or disadvantaged women – especially immigrant women – and their communities.

Viewers who wish to place orders can call a number answered by operators at Pine Tree Teleservices in Lewiston. Odokara is hoping the orders will produce new revenue that can be channeled to the Auburn project.

“$1 million is the goal,” she said of the new fundraising effort. “I think we’re capable of reaching that in six months.”

If so, the groundbreaking will occur next year on the two-story center. The building is an entirely green design to make it environmentally friendly and energy efficient.

Odokara said part of the plan is to offer the building as a community cultural center. It’s a logical off-shoot of a child development center with a multi-lingual environment, outdoor-based activities and an inclusive admissions policy.

“This has been a social enterprise right from the start,” said Odokara.

L-A was picked for the project because a lot of local women use its services and because the communities have been welcoming.

“They are open and supportive,” she said, noting city staffs,as well as many local organizations, have been helpful.

Several weeks ago, Odokara joined the Chamber of Commerce and began networking with local businesses looking for support. Just recently she has been discussing a possible partnership with the YWCA.

“If you do it and do it well, a child development center can be very profitable,” she said. “We’re looking to make the project possible with a joint ownership.”

Plans call for hiring 35 people at the center with another 18 or so working across the street at the packaging facility. All would be paid a livable wage, which WINI insists upon in its contracts with the fair trade groups that produce the spices and wallets.

And the Auburn workers would be offered subsidized day care at the center, which is being built with the capacity to handle 200 children.

Odokara knows the project still has a ways to go, but she is determined. WINI has been in Maine for five years and advocated for more than 2,000 women, including those who have used Doorway to Hope, its transitional home for women leaving prison.

The financial setbacks for the Auburn project are just an obstacle to be overcome.

“We’re still going ahead, because that’s the best way to go,” she said.