Penobscot Bay YMCA celebrates new Lily Pond Infant Care Center
Pictured left to right: John Robinson, Director of Finance; Meredith Gutheinz, Senior Director of Child Care; Grif Lesher of the Lesher Family Foundation; Whitney Files, CEO; Annemarie Ahearn, YMCA Board Member; Dr. Todd Landy, Director, Office of Child and Family Services Department of Health and Human Services, Vicki Doudera, Maine State Representative; and Jayme Ward, Infant Care Teacher. (Photo courtesy Penobscot Bay YMCA)
Lily Pond Infant Care Center. (Photo courtesy Penobscot Bay YMCA)
Pictured left to right: Whitney Files, CEO, and Meredith Guthienz, Senior Director of Child Care. (Photo courtesy Penobscot Bay YMCA)
Pictured left to right: Whitney Files, CEO, and Dr. Todd Landy, Director, Office of Child and Family Services Department of Health and Human Services. (Photo courtesy Penobscot Bay YMCA)
Dr. Todd Landy, Director, Office of Child and Family Services Department of Health and Human Services. (Photo courtesy Penobscot Bay YMCA)
Pictured left to right: Dr. Todd Landy, Director, Office of Child and Family Services Department of Health and Human Services; Vicki Doudera, Maine State Representative; and Whitney Files, CEO. (Photo courtesy Penobscot Bay YMCA)
Whitney Files, CEO, speaking to attendees. (Photo courtesy Penobscot Bay YMCA)
Pictured left to right: John Robinson, Director of Finance; Meredith Gutheinz, Senior Director of Child Care; Grif Lesher of the Lesher Family Foundation; Whitney Files, CEO; Annemarie Ahearn, YMCA Board Member; Dr. Todd Landy, Director, Office of Child and Family Services Department of Health and Human Services, Vicki Doudera, Maine State Representative; and Jayme Ward, Infant Care Teacher. (Photo courtesy Penobscot Bay YMCA)
Lily Pond Infant Care Center. (Photo courtesy Penobscot Bay YMCA)
Pictured left to right: Whitney Files, CEO, and Meredith Guthienz, Senior Director of Child Care. (Photo courtesy Penobscot Bay YMCA)
Pictured left to right: Whitney Files, CEO, and Dr. Todd Landy, Director, Office of Child and Family Services Department of Health and Human Services. (Photo courtesy Penobscot Bay YMCA)
Dr. Todd Landy, Director, Office of Child and Family Services Department of Health and Human Services. (Photo courtesy Penobscot Bay YMCA)
Pictured left to right: Dr. Todd Landy, Director, Office of Child and Family Services Department of Health and Human Services; Vicki Doudera, Maine State Representative; and Whitney Files, CEO. (Photo courtesy Penobscot Bay YMCA)
Whitney Files, CEO, speaking to attendees. (Photo courtesy Penobscot Bay YMCA)
ROCKPORT — The Penobscot Bay YMCA held its Ribbon Cutting Ceremony to celebrate the new Lily Pond Infant Care Center on September 27, 2023. Once fully staffed, the new child care center will allow the Y to expand their licensed child care program by 20%, serving infants from as young as six weeks old to 18 months of age.
“With the opening of our Lily Pond Infant Care Center, we will be able to serve more local families who are in desperate need of affordable, quality care for their young children,” said Whitney Files, CEO of the Penobscot Bay YMCA, in a news release. “We are most grateful to the Maine Child Care Infrastructure Grant Program as well as many local businesses, foundations, and individual donors who have made this new Center possible. Thanks to charitable contributions to our Child Care Campaign, we have been able to complete renovations and we have initial funding to underwrite the launch of this Center. We are excited to welcome new families to the Y this fall.”
The need for child care in the Midcoast community has a ripple effect across the local economy, as parents are unable to return to the workforce, according to PBYMCA. A 2023 report by Ready Nation estimates that Maine's lack of child care may be costing the state $403 million a year. The study also found that infant care on average costs about $11,960 per year, more expensive than the cost of in-state college tuition.
Community members who wish to contribute to the Y’s Child Care Campaign can donate online at www.penbayymca.org/give/child-care-campaign/. Funds will allow the Y to keep child care programs affordable by underwriting the operating cost of the infant and young toddler programs, including financial assistance to families in need.
The Y is for youth development, healthy living and social responsibility. To learn more about the Y’s Child Care Campaign for infants and little toddlers, contact the Y at 236.3375.
Ready Nation Report Source: https://www.strongnation.org/articles/2173-the-growing-annual-cost-of-the-infant-toddler-child-care-crisis-in-maine
