RANGELEY — Speaking on behalf of the Beth Brunswick Memorial Fund for Children, Ellen Oppenheim, board president, shared the recent news that they have been chosen to receive a $1,000,000 grant.

The $1,000,000 comes from the Northern Borders Regional Commission (NBRC), 2024 Catalyst Program. The program was designed to improve the economic health of rural communities in Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, and New York.

The funds will go toward the construction of a not-for-profit, licensed, childcare center in the town of Rangeley.

Oppenheim shared that this welcome news took a great deal of the pressure off and allowed the project to proceed as planned.

Oppenheim said, “I’m just really relieved because we really want to see this project happen and without this $1,000,000, I don’t know what we would have decided to do. It would have been difficult to move forward with the plans that we have without this grant.”

She recalled consistent feedback from both surveys and business owners reflecting the need for such a project.

Conversations indicated that interviews with prospective employees would often result in the discussion of whether there was affordable and readily available childcare in the area.

Oppenheim explained, “Employers couldn’t hire people because one of the questions the potential employee would ask is, ‘Okay, so if I come to Rangeley, would you have available childcare?’, and the answer is that the area providers have waiting lists. I think it’s been very difficult for local, young parents to get their kids into childcare.”

The NBRC grant allows the Beth Brunswick Memorial team to move forward with confidence.

Oppenheim added, “…this one million(dollar) grant, … will put us in the position to start the project this fall”.

With site testing and engineering already mid-process, the construction is expected to take place on October 1, with completion in time for a summer 2025 opening.

Adjacent to Rangeley Lakes Regional School, the facility will accommodate 48 children as young as six weeks old and up to age five.

The plan also includes an extra classroom space for up to 26 children that will allow for additional possible options such as a drop-in service for visitors to the area.

In sharing her appreciation of the granted funds, she also made it clear that a good deal of financial support is still needed.

The total project calculation of $3.5 million includes construction, land, operation expenses and working capital.

“Well, we still have fundraising to do,” she said. “There’s still a gap of $500,000, but we are confident now that we can get there. We don’t feel like we should not proceed at this point because we have three out of the three and a half million dollars accounted for.”

She offered a brief summary of funds received to date.

“So it’s $1,000,000 in philanthropy. $1,000,000 from this NBRC grant, $750,000 from the feds (federal government), from a congressional directed spending grant, and $250,000 from the state through the Childcare Infrastructure Act,” she explained. “So that’s $3,000,000. And we have another $500k to go, and I’m confident we’re going to get there with some good, hard work.

“So, it’s exciting that we can get this project underway, and the timeline is to break ground October 1st. And then we would be occupying the building by July 1 (2025).”

“And that gives us that built-in time for all the inspections and so forth that we’ll need to take place with the childcare center. There’s a lot of regulations and inspections, as you can imagine,” she added.

With a groundbreaking ceremony scheduled for August 30, it’s sure to be a celebrated occasion as there has been a lot of local support for the project.

“The town has been super, super supportive. One of the things that was helpful was being able to provide letters of support from the town of Rangeley and from the surrounding plantations” such as a letter of support from the Rangeley Water District.

“Everybody in town has been so supportive of this project and that was incredibly helpful. Also, having financial support from local merchants and getting local merchants to write us letters of support. All those things were important. For them to see that the community is behind this project.

“So, we’re really happy about that and we’re really happy that the school has been so supportive of what we’re doing and positive. And we are going to share a driveway with them and there is going to be some shared access points, walkways and so forth, which is going to make life easier for the families and the children.”

Anyone interested in making a tax-deductible donation, may visit the website, bethbrunswickmemorialfund.org or for more information email rangeleychildcare@gmail.com.