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www.driftlessjournal.com | 563-382-4221 | Tuesday, July 9, 2024 | Vol. 6 Issue 28
Sunflower Child Development is meeting a growing community need
Sunflower Child Development has been serving Winneshiek County for more than four decades, and they now have a new home. Families were officially welcomed to the spacious, new multi-million dollar center Monday, June 10. The area’s largest area for infants, toddlers, preschoolers and after-schoolers, Sunflower boasts modern classrooms, playgrounds and specialized facilities. (Photo by Samantha Ludeking) By Stephanie Fromm Executive Director of Winneshiek County Development and Tourism The Sunflower Child Development and Discovery Center, an exciting addition to Winneshiek County’s community services has recently opened part of its facility. After years of project planning, fundraising and finally construction, the childcare portion of the facility opened its doors on Monday, June 10. The milestone marks the accomplishment of a project that not only addresses the critical need for more childcare slots in the area but also promises to enrich the lives of young children through public access to the innovative indoor play areas in the Discovery Center. Meeting a critical need Access to childcare, a priority issue initially adopted by Win-
The purposefully designed neshiek County Development and Tourism more than five building provides a clean, reliable and safe environyears ago, was noted ment for children in as one of the most the community pressing chal“What I like and features a lenges facing about the new fully-operafamilies in center is that there is tional kitchen Winneshiek and 13 cozy County. With more space and all classrooms the complethe new equipment divided by tion of this in the gym.” age and named project phase, after woodland the Sunflower Sloan, 10 creatures such Child Developas ducklings, ment and Discovchipmunks, ery Center is helping “I like to sit otters, owls, to alleviate this issue in our new foxes and by adding much-needchairs.” wolves. ed childcare slots in its Sunflower beautiful state-of-the-art Eleanor, 3 is excited to facility. This multi-milshare the buildlion dollar initiative taken ing space with the on and supported by dozens of organizations in the county, not local HeadStart pre-school proonly supports working families gram. Sunflower will also offer but also contributes to the over- summer care and before/after all well-being and development school care for school-age children (ages 5-12). This facility of children.
will provide care to more than 200 children, ages 0-12 years old. Through successful fundraising and grant writing efforts, the facility offers amenities that include an indoor gym space, a learning kitchen, which is sized for students, and beautiful outdoor play spaces. The facility made energy-efficient decisions when building, and has included a 210kW solar array, 60kW SolarEdge battery Sunflower’s “light fixture crew” assembled the mason jar light system, 22kW Standby display in the lobby of the new facility. Pictured (l-r): Stephanie Generac Generator, Solar- Fromm, Hannah Tulgren, Maddie Putnam and Merlene Brown. Flower Array and a Daily (submitted) Educational Solar Proinal locations within the city of duction and Monitor Display Returning “home” to its Decorah due to a four-acre land System that will help visually roots educate children and visiting The opening of the Sunflower donation from WinnMed. This families about the positive im- Child Development and Dispact this setup has on both the covery Center marks a poignant Sunflower nonprofit’s operating budget moment for the organization, continued on page 4 and the environment. as it returns to one of its orig-
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