(Griswold) The Noble Initiative Foundation, alongside many community volunteers, have been working diligently over the last year to see a childcare facility in Griswold come to life. These volunteers were recently notified they were awarded a grant of $500,000 from The Charles E. Lakin Foundation.
Steve and Barb Baier are with the Noble Initiative Foundation….
The Lakin Foundation’s goal of supporting the education of children and families to stimulate the economy aligns well with the facility’s purpose. The Griswold Child Development Center will provide year-round childcare for children 6 weeks up to 12 years old allowing parents to pursue employment opportunities.
Steve Wild, Charles E. Lakin Foundation President, discusses the foundation’s history and future funding goals, “The Lakin Foundation was born out of a small rural community (Emerson/Malvern) and is deeply concerned about how the population decline negatively impacts the region’s economic health. We are therefore making major investments into solving the workforce shortage… We will focus on making grants to address the severe childcare shortage and researching solutions to the housing shortage.”
“The Lakin Foundation is very proud to become the lead donor for a new childcare facility in Griswold, Iowa.” says Wild, “It will be a state-of-the-art facility ideally located adjacent to the public school and a new housing development. Griswold is a wonderful town, and the new facility will be an important step in revitalizing the area and making it appealing for young families to live and work in the area.” Many community members and stakeholders also see the need for the facility.
The Lakin Foundation funding announcement comes at a crucial time as these funds help the initiative close in on the original goal of 2.3 million dollars.
The next step is hiring a Director who can start taking charge of things like staff recruitment, curriculum, general operating policies and those types of things.
The Noble Initiative Foundation Board is still optimistic that the facility will be completed by Fall of 2023 as the contractors were able to get a good start on the foundation this winter. The Board plans to host a formal ground-breaking ceremony on March 25th at the site beside the Griswold School. More information on that will be released soon.
Steve Baier said when they were able to purchase the ground for the Child Development Center site, they purchase what amounted to approximately nine acres. Since they have now secured the funding for the construction phase, they are going to start a new 501c3 called the Noble Initiative Community Foundation.
Fundraising efforts are still underway. If you would like to join the hundreds of local volunteers and donors investing in the future of the community, donations can be sent directly to the Noble Initiative Foundation, PO Box 103, Griswold, IA 51535. Be sure to follow the project progress on the “Noble Initiative Foundation” Facebook page or you can learn more by visiting the Noble Initiative Foundation’s website at www.nobleinitiativefoundation.org
