Peacock Wins $35,000 Grant from Birkenfeld Trust!
Bainbridge Island, Washington, January 11, 2011—The child care center at Peacock Family Center is now known as the C. Keith Birkenfeld Early Learning Center after the Bainbridge nonprofit organization received a generous grant from the Seattle Foundation, which administers the C. Keith Birkenfeld Memorial Trust. The funding was awarded to support renovation of the center.
Shawna Smith, a Lead Teacher at Peacock Family Center, expresses the staff’s excitement with the grant award: "Having the infant/toddler play yard is an important piece of our RIE-inspired curriculum. Children need direct access to safe and age-appropriate outside areas, allowing them freedom to explore their environment in whatever way feels most natural to them." The RIE Approach is based on respect, with the goal of fostering confidence, curiosity, competence, and resourcefulness, among other qualities.
Peacock Family Center recently relocated to downtown Winslow at 305 Madison Avenue North. They sought the Birkenfeld funding to renovate their new home to meet the Internal Building Code, the requirements of the Department of Early Learning (DEL) for licensed child care facilities, and Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design standards. The Center is certified by Eco-Healthy Child Care—a national certifying organization for non-toxic, healthy, and safe child care facilities—and it offers an organic whole grain lunch daily to patrons, nontoxic and eco-friendly toys and supplies, and a secure outdoor play area.
“Each room is a celebration of natural light, color and playful space,” says Chris Gutsche, architect and founding partner of Ecosmith Architecture and Consulting, LLC. Gutsche designed the new center and was active in overseeing the work funded by the grant. He adds, “Careful oversight during construction ensured the use of healthy, non-toxic materials throughout. Peacock is a place of joy, warmth and nurturing.”
The new C. Keith Birkenfeld Early Learning Center at Peacock offers full-time and flexible child care services to babies, toddlers, and children up to age twelve. It is the only nonprofit child care center providing care to infants and toddlers six weeks to two and a half years on Bainbridge Island. In addition to meeting the need for expanded quality child care on the Island, the center was developed to address specific needs identified through a North Kitsap needs assessment and The Health, Housing, and Human Services (HHHS) Council Healthy Community Check-Up report (2008). These include respite care for children with special needs; community connection for low-income families, two-working-parent households, and families in transition; and financial assistance for child care for families in Kitsap County where nearly 2,000 children under 5 years old are living in poverty (2008).
Peacock Family Center facilitates community connection by bringing families together through numerous daytime and evening events including enrichment classes and programs for families, assessment and resource referral, lactation consulting, pregnancy and childbirth education, counseling for perinatal depression, and support groups for special interests. And it houses a multimedia lending library.
To address financial need, Peacock Family Center offers aid and sliding scale fees: Thirty percent of families enrolled in Peacock Family Center child care are receiving state DSHS or Peacock Family Center financial assistance. Peacock Family Center’s partner Helpline House provides screening for financial assistance.
About C. Keith Birkenfeld
C. Keith Birkenfeld was a philanthropist, a high school teacher of International Relations and U.S. History, and an administrator in the Bellevue, Washington, School District. For 25 years he made Bainbridge Island his home base as he traveled the world extensively. The Memorial Trust was established in 2006 to further his goal of improving the quality of life for Puget Sound residents. The Seattle Foundation, administrator of the Trust, was established in 1946. Today it is one of the nation’s largest community foundations, with assets of nearly $650 million.
photos (top bar) by Tricia Kurtzman
photo (top) by Chris Gutsche, Architect, Ecosmith Architecture & Consulting, LLC (http://www.ecosmithdesign.com)
photo (middle) by Abbie Treis
illustrations by Sarah Lane (http://www.salandpen.com)
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