ELLSWORTH-- Child and Family Opportunities has launched its first-ever capital campaign with a lead gift of $150,000 from a local family. Funds are being raised to finish and equip a 12,000 square-foot early education and child care center at 18 Avery Lane in Ellsworth.  "We are so pleased by the great support this lead donor has shown," says Executive Director Jeanie Mills. "In all our years providing services, we have never conducted a fundraising campaign, so this gift is a wonderful surprise and delight to us."

Architect's Rendering

The facility, designed to serve 80 infants, toddlers and preschool children each day, will be the only Ellsworth center that provides child care for infants. The building will also house the administrative offices of all CFO's programs in Washington and Hancock Counties.   The facility is designed to flow smoothly between the office wing and the child care wing by way of a handicapped accessible walkway.  As children and families enter the child care wing, they will be greeted by a Main Street U.S.A. type theme with classroom entryways depicting storefronts and the flooring to resemble a roadway.  The facility is scheduled to open in Spring of 2003.

Floor plan

The overall cost of the project is $2.2 million; nearly two million has been raised through government grants and loans.   "We have enough money from loans and grants to pay for most of the construction of the building, but we need $300,000 to finish the project, develop the playgrounds and equip the classrooms and offices." 

It is no secret that there is a child care crisis in Hancock County. Affordable, quality child care centers are few and far between.  Infant care is particularly difficult to find.

Educational child care has enormous impact on children; studies show it plays a large part in reducing crime, lowering school drop out rates, and increasing earning power for these future adults.  Child care also is a critical part of the economic infrastructure that creates jobs and enables skilled workers to remain in the labor pool. 

CFO is deemed a program of excellence by the Administration of Children and Families, a division of the Department of Health and Human Services. The agency was established in 1970 to serve the developmental needs of children and families in downeast Maine.  Early Care and Education programs provide comprehensive early education, health, and family services to children and their families.   In addition to the Ellsworth program, CFO operates programs in Bucksport, Stonington, Sullivan, Harrington, Jonesport, Machias, Lubec and Calais and houses the Child Care Resource Development Center for Hancock County.

For more information on CFO's capital campaign, call or write Jeanie Mills, Executive Director, Child and Family Opportunities, PO Box 648, Ellsworth, ME 04605, (207) 667-2995