Children’s Center at UUCT receives $50,000 Grant

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In a flurry of activity at the end of July, UUCT found out that our renter — the Children’s Center (CC) — was planning to install 4 mini-split air conditioners on the Thoreau building.

  • They had long complained that the existing roof mounted and window ACs could not keep the rooms at the state-required 82 degrees in the hot summer days.

The Children’s Center received a $50,000 grant from LISC to fix the problem.

  • LISC (Local Initiatives Support Group) is a national organization that was formed to bring financial resources from foundations, government, and for-profits — and get the money to local organizations that needed capital.
  • The federal American Resources Plan Act funded a program — which is ending September 30, 2023 — to bring ventilation to schools and day care centers.
  • LISC is an intermediary — getting the funds from the federal government to organizations (like the CC) who needed capital improvements.

One of LISC’s major programs is improving the physical spaces of child care centers — as a way to build a robust quality child care system.

  • They also emphasize supporting entrepreneurs who are women of color.
  • Rema Koussa (owner and director of the CC) received the money at the end of July and had to spend it by August 15 — not leaving much time for coordination.
  • The end result is that three mini-split ACs — comprised of a condenser unit on the roof and a small blower unit hung on the classroom wall —  are installed and operating in Thoreau building and one on the Lincoln building for the Awareness room.
  • They are a gift from the CC to UUCT — using our tax dollars as economic stimulus and improving early childhood education.
  • The Children’s Center also used similar grant money to install artificial turf over the whole courtyard — and under the play structure in the playground.
    • This has profoundly changed the way the courtyard looks.
    • They also got funding for new toys and equipment for the children.
  • The result — along with fresh paint and the new floor coverings UUCT installed last year — has created an attractive area for children to grow and thrive.

~ Margot Garcia for the Facilities Team