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$500,000 grant secured for new childcare facility
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Advancing Barton County Childcare Inc., established by Great Bend Economic Development Inc., was recently awarded a $500,000 grant from the Patterson Family Foundation. These funds will be used for the construction of a new childcare facility located in Great Bend.

“Childcare is a huge priority for us, primarily because we’ve found the lack of childcare in Barton County to be a major barrier in the area’s push for growth,” said GBED President Sara Hayden. “There are approximately 700 spots needed for childcare above and beyond what is available currently. We founded Advancing Barton County Childcare to find strategic ways to combat this shortage and help employers and employees fill this gap.”

GBED has been fundraising to establish new childcare facilities around the county, accepting both private and public donations as well as applying for grants. The Patterson Family Foundation is now the largest donor for the project, and the committee anticipates completing the fundraising process later this summer. 

The Kansas City, Mo.-based Patterson Family Foundation is a family-led foundation extending the legacy of Neal and Jeanne Patterson, and was established to reinvest in rural communities and cultivate values of education and hard work for current and future generations. “On behalf of the Foundation, I am pleased to award funding to GBED Inc. Access to childcare is an important resource for families. We look forward to learning about GBED Inc’s success with this programming,” said Sara Hackett, program officer for the Patterson Family Foundation.

The ABCC board plans to continue their efforts to add more childcare facilities in Barton County in the future. 

“We’re very excited to break ground on this first project,” Hayden said. “We’re so grateful for the generous support of the Patterson Family Foundation, as well as our other donors. This creates so much potential and new opportunity for the future of Great Bend and Barton County.”

ABCC was created as a non-profit charitable organization through GBED. Its mission is to provide quality, reliable, and sustainable childcare solutions in Barton County. 

There is no timeline yet as to when construction will start,. Hayden said.

Great Bend Economic Development Inc. was founded in 2019 as a public/private partnership focusing on the economic development efforts in Great Bend, Kansas. 

Learn more at www.gbedinc.com or contact Hayden at 620-796-2407.