ST. PAUL – The Town of St. Paul will assist the St. Paul Family Day Homes with grant writing and finding potential funding opportunities to help fund needed maintenance for the non-profit's building, as the long-running society continues to work to fulfill childcare demands in the community.
The St. Paul Family Day Homes organization works with and supports day homes that operate in the area.
The group is looking for funding to help replace the siding of its office building. The siding is pulling apart from the building and letting moisture in, according to information from the group. It will roughly cost $40,000 to address the maintenance needs.
The society recently sent a request to Town council for support.
Lori Stokes, St. Paul Family Day Home’s agency director, says they are also looking for support from other potential partners, such as the County of St. Paul.
Danica Poulin, assistant director, says the society is also planning different fundraisers to help offset operational and maintenance costs.
“We made arrangements with the Joe Show to come to St. Paul on Oct. 18,” said Poulin. “We’re encouraging families to come together and spend that time together and hopefully help us out a little bit.”
Currently, St. Paul Family Day Homes has a total of 12 day homes, offering childcare services to 45 families within the St. Paul region. They are hoping to have two more day homes join the society this summer.
There also seems to be more demand for even more childcare options in the community, according to Stokes. She said enrolment at St. Paul Family Day Homes has increased from June to July, and they expect more increases in August.
“We typically have a shortage of infant care spaces, so we’re always trying to recruit providers just because we don’t always have enough spaces for what the need is,” she says.
Stokes wants to remind the community that if they want an alternative to facility-based childcare, to reach out to them for more information about local day homes.
And if parents want to register their child with St. Paul Family Day Homes, they can go to the organization’s office, and they will be provided names of childcare providers under the non-profit’s umbrella who might be able to accommodate them.
County of St. Paul request
A request for funding was brought before County of St. Paul council on July 24. Reeve Glen Ockerman asked if the municipality could provide support by helping the non-profit apply for grants, to which CAO Jason Wallsmith said yes.
Ockerman also noted that the County has its own infrastructure to maintain. A motion to deny the request for funding but offer support with grant applications was carried.
