St. John Daycare Expansion: Eliminate the Waitlist! Phase #1

Did you know that Wisconsin Department of Children and Families has recently deemed Lincoln County as being considered a “Daycare Desert”? This means that many families in our community do not have adequate daycare options available for their children. St. John is looking to revolutionize this for the City of Merrill and surrounding areas. Our community has an opportunity to partner together to make a change!

Wisconsin Department of Children and Families: Dream Up Committee recently sent out a survey regarding childcare and the results were shocking - 76 Lincoln County residents participated and of those participants:

》14 families have multiple children at different locations for childcare.

》39 currently use a family member or friend for their childcare.

》26 left the workforce in the last 5 years because of childcare issues.

》11 more had a significant other or another family member leave the workforce for a total 49% surveyed.

》60% of the participants had challenges in the last 2 years accessing childcare.

St. John 4 years ago saw an opportunity to support our community in this area by opening the current daycare which is a non-profit. While we currently serve 24 children, we still have an astounding waitlist of 40+ children’s names on it, waiting for childcare to become available. Our program is in the basement of the church, utilizing multiple different spaces. While this works for 24 children, we see there is a larger community need and we’re committed to doing what we can. We have this waitlist, a need we can’t solve alone. However, by joining together with community partnerships we can help to stabilize Merrill’s childcare system!

The St. John Building Campaign: Daycare Expansion Project will include the following items:

》New State of the Art Facility, able to support 70 children of multiple ages.

》Lock down security system to ensure the children’s safety.

》6 Classrooms with furnishings to support all age development from 0–5-year-olds.

》Indoor flex space for creative play and gathering events.

》Playground areas with age-appropriate equipment.

》A program that provides young learner educational opportunities and sense of community!

》A sense of support for the young families that want to work and live in Merrill.

---------------------------------------------------------Estimated Total Cost of Project: $3,200,000

St. John Lutheran Church is committed to help stabilize the childcare system in our community and is looking for those who also care about the children of our future! We care about our community and all the children in it. If this sounds like you as well, please contribute to this community changing project!

Sincerely,

St. John Lutheran Church & School Daycare Expansion Committee