The Village Learning Center

Hi, my name is Jen Ruwersma, and I am the driving force behind The Village Learning Center. The Village Learning Center aims to tackle the lack of both affordable childcare and senior enrichment resources in our community by creating a combined non-profit childcare and senior center.

THE PROBLEM

Our state is in a childcare crisis, with Cedar Springs being affected to such an extent that we are considered a childcare desert. There is not a single childcare center in our school district, and waitlists for in-home programs often exceed a year! The second problem is the lack of resources and enrichment available to our area seniors. Due to an unfortunate real estate transaction earlier this year, our area seniors, many of whom are veterans, lost out on hundreds of thousands of dollars and were left with no place to call home. https://www.woodtv.com/news/target-8/seniors-out-in-the-cold-after-raw-property-deal/

THE SOLUTION

A great deal of the building will be dedicated to the childcare portion of this project and create 60 childcare spaces for children birth through age 5. It will aim to prepare our children to excel as young community-minded leaders of tomorrow by combining a highly rated childcare curriculum with the opportunity to build meaningful relationships through our collaboration with the local senior organization.

The remaining space will house our school-age program intent on supplementing the family setting between school and home hours. It will serve up to 36 school-age children and is staffed by volunteers from local churches who willingly give their time every week to help students succeed. It is a safe environment where students can go not only to receive additional help with school but it is also a way for students to take part in their community through an array of service projects available to them.

The final component of this project is between 9 am and 3 pm; when the older children are not utilizing this space, it will serve as the home to our community senior center for socialization and activities. With the goal of reducing depression in older adults, participating seniors will have the opportunity to interact with the childcare children through various planned activities, including playing games, reading stories, cooking experiences, crafts, and so much more. These seniors will make a significant difference in the lives of children by teaching them essential life skills and acting as mentors while instilling confidence and self-esteem into their young minds. The senior center will also have its' own programming and offer daily coffee and lunches, low-impact exercise programs, music, entertainment, speakers, games and group outings.

THE NEED

I have purchased the building with my own funds and am now excited to turn the ugliest building in town into something we can all be proud of! We have been awarded numerous grants and have received a great deal of community support already, but we need to raise the remaining $350,000 for the building renovation. All funds raised in this campaign will go directly to the nonprofit for the cost of renovating the building.