OLD TOWN, Maine (NEWS CENTER) - A child care center in Old Town that has been considered by some parents "the gold standard" for child care is reopening its doors.
Penquis Child Development Center was forced to close 3 years ago due to a lack of federal funding.
Penquis representatives say there is a lot of work to be done on the building before the kids can come back - since it has been empty for three years.
Liberty Mutual Insurance is sending a team of volunteers to help restore the building.
This daycare offers free school readiness programs for families who qualify in its Head Start program.
Penquis says this will be a huge help to this community - in a recent survey of over 100 parents, the majority felt that affordable childcare is a huge need in the Old Town area.
Penquis Community Relations Director Renae Muscatell explained why this is so important, saying, “I know of a single dad who is transporting his son back and forth to the Head Start program in Bangor from Old Town. And he reached out to me and he said, ‘I just can’t afford the gas back and forth, and he had to pull his child. And his son lost out on early childhood education.”
The renovations with Liberty Mutual will be finishing up this Friday, and infants and preschoolers will be back in the building starting on June 14.
