MILFORD -ÊIt's a new beginning for New Beginnings Child Care Inc., Milford, and to help celebrate their official grand opening, New Beginnings is hosting an open house Saturday from 10 a.m to 2 p.m.

A formal dedication will be held at 11 a.m. with a ribbon cutting. New Beginnings president Mark Baumgartner and a town council representative will give short speeches to mark the occasion.

At 11:30 a.m., clowns will make an appearance along with face paintings and fun balloons for the children. A fire truck will also be on hand. Wawasee-103 will give a live broadcast, and refreshments will be served.

Community members can take a tour of the facilities and there will be games, arts and crafts in each room.

New Beginnings opened at its new facilities June 7. They have 86 children enrolled, representing 65 local families.

"We have openings in all areas, 2 years old to 12. Two-year olds do not have to be potty-trained," said director Amy Marra.

Summer programs are available for school-age children.

New Beginnings has a staff of nine teachers, a full-time cook, a director and an assistant director.

"We're just so excited," said Marra. "We've had very positive comments from parents."

The child care center was formed by parents and concerned citizens in the Milford community. The community saw the importance of a continued community-based child care when Generations Child Care said they were going to close in April 1996.

Their doors opened Sept. 3, 1996, at First Brethren Church, West Catherine Street, Milford. During the last two years, the center has raised money for their own facilities. In May 1998, the center was awarded a $450,000 block grant from the Indiana Department of Commerce. Other contributions and grants were also awarded from the Dekko foundation among others.

New Beginnings also raised $100,000 on their own.

Groundbreaking on the new facilities was October 1998. Total space for the new New Beginnings is 6,000 square feet. Rooms include a lobby area for a receptionist, a director's office, a teachers' lounge and workroom, a sickroom, a kitchen, bathrooms and about four classrooms.

The classrooms are broken down into age groups. Children 2 years old have their own classroom, as do 3-year-olds. Children ages 4 and 5 share a classroom. School-age children, 6 to 12 years old, share a classroom.

The center is open 5:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday and provides a nutritional breakfast, hot lunch and two snacks daily.

Diane Nail, a teacher at New Beginnings, has been with the day care for four years, and six more years with Generations day care.

Of the new day care facilities, she said, "I think it's great. We have separate classrooms now which give us more of an advantage for one-on-one and age-appropriate activities. It's bright. It's pretty. It's a place we can be proud of. Parents can be really proud to bring their children here.

"We've had lots of community support. I think the parents of the children here at the day care and the businesses in Milford have really rallied to bring this quality of child care here to Milford."

Marra said the entire community deserves a thank-you, from the citizens who contributed financially to the volunteers who gave their time and the businesses who sponsored rooms. A few rooms are still available for sponsorships. Businesses interested in becoming room sponsors can call New Beginnings at 658-9440. Money helps pay for room furnishings, toys and other supplies.

The day care can have up to 91 children at one time. Students are part-time, full-time, a few days of the week, or in the morning preschool program.

"It's just a great learning program for preschool-age children," said Marra.

Nail said, "The need for childcare across our nation is of the utmost importance. They are our future." [[In-content Ad]]