MOUNT VERNON — Since 1887, the Salvation Army has worked to meet the needs of the community in Mount Vernon.
Their latest effort to do so? Launching a new, $6.2 million child care facility.
The Learning Lighthouse is a 13,270-square-foot facility is set to open in January. Located on Howard Street, it takes up a full city block and will be able to serve up to 112 children.
Captain Christine Moretz and Director of Education Zach Shoro have had their hands full since taking on the project in May 2023, but said having a designated child care facility in Mount Vernon since 1950 certainly has helped credibility.
The Mount Vernon Corps’ Learning Zone currently provides afterschool care for 36 elementary age children.
“We’re one of only five all-day licensed centers for infant to school age children in all of Knox County,” Moretz said. “We not only knew the need, but we knew that this is something we do and we try to do very well at as minimal a cost as possible.”
Meeting a community need
Back in 2022, the Area Development Foundation released data pointing out the need for child care-related services in Knox County.
According to the data, the biggest need was care for children five and younger, specifically before and after school care.
“I think with the Area Development Foundation, one of the main points was that (if there’s) more people with child care, there’s more work,” Shoro said. “It’s good for the economy, (it) get people into jobs.”
“So we said, ‘Oh, this service is really important to us and it also connected with a bunch of community needs too.’ So our goals connected really well with other organization goals.”
Seven of the nine new classrooms will serve children from infancy to age 5. The other two classrooms will serve as the new home for the Learning Zone’s afterschool program.
The Salvation Army will also have two separate playgrounds within the U-shaped building’s courtyard, one for older kids and one for younger ones.
All 112 kids will be able to use a gymnasium, eat meals from a full kitchen and, for those who need it, access a sensory awareness area when they need a break from the larger group.
Child care ends up being such a huge part of kids’ upbringings, and we just want that to be as comfortable and as good an experience for a family as possible.
Zach shoro
Shoro said there are nearly 30 families interested in enrolling their children.
Before putting money down, parents sit in a series of interviews, tours, learn about the curriculum, have the option to see how their child interacts at the facility and meet teachers.
“Child care ends up being such a huge part of kids’ upbringings, and we just want that to be as comfortable and as good an experience for a family as possible,” Shoro said.
Moretz said safety is a big priority for the center, and the new building will allow for not just more opportunities, but safer ones.
After the Learning Lighthouse opens, parents who have court-ordered supervised visitation will be able to spend time with their children in the former Learning Zone space.
“That way, all of the kids are safe, all of the public is safe. There’s no intermingling,” Capt. Moretz said.
The former afterschool care space will also be used for other Salvation Army services, like meeting with clients who need financial assistance or access to the food pantry.
The Economic Policy Institute estimates the average annual cost of infant care in Ohio is $17,071. The annual cost at the Light the Day campus for full-time infant services is about $17,160.
Below is a table of the hours and corresponding rates at the Army’s new facility, based on age and how often a child is at the facility.
Final hurdles include fundraising, hiring teachers
Since the official launch in May 2023, Moretz and her team have raised just over $5.4 million of the $6.2 million needed.
One of the biggest challenges still facing the project is raising the final $700,000.
“Having the funds to finish this project in terms of final construction payments, final payments for furnishings, kitchen equipment, those kinds of things, and not incur long-term debt to the Salvation Army, that’s super important,” Moretz said.
Shoro said that the hiring process for teachers still ongoing and probably will be until the facility’s opening in January.
“One of the biggest needs we knew going in was finding teachers and not just any teachers — good teachers, teachers that are qualified and passionate about what they do — and linking them to age groups that are good for them,” he said.
Shoro said teachers are the “lifeblood” of this whole operation and finding the right ones who are passionate about what they do and paying them well is an operational challenge.
“We want to be discerning in who we hire,” Shoro said. “We also we don’t want to take from other child cares, but hire new people and train them up well.”
“Hiring good employees is something that I think everybody in the child care world is kind of struggling with right now,” he added. “We’re very aware of that and are trying to figure out how we want to combat that issue.”
Collaboration was key to making the Learning Lighthouse a reality
Shoro said he thinks one problem in child care is that oftentimes, providers tend to do things on their own.
“The way this (could be) replicated is by tying into community organizations,” he said.
“One of the things I think Area Development Foundation has been great at is giving us legitimacy in the community, and giving us their backing along with other organizations.” he added.
Shoro said leaning on the expertise of other organizations has also been crucial to the Salvation Army’s child care extension.
“If you have people who have done this before, already have solutions in place, that’s really important,” Shoro said.
“We’ve had several times where we’re like, ‘What do we do? This is new to us.’ And we’ve had other people to talk to from Cleveland or Akron or other areas that have been really important to us. I don’t know how I’d do that without other people.”
Moretz said having a group to go to and bounce ideas off of is something they want to continue once they officially get up and running.
After all, 112 child care spots are great, but the ADF study shows that the community still needs more.
For the next group who steps up to the plate on child care, Moretz said she’ll be ready to share information on “getting a building ready or getting a classroom ready, or what the licensing regulations are, or how to get licensed through the state of Ohio.”
Below is a gallery of images from inside and outside the Salvation Army’s new child care facility, as well as a few renderings of what the classrooms will look like. Credit: Jack Slemenda
Moretz said the center couldn’t have come about without the generosity of the Mount Vernon and Knox County community.
“When we shared with the community that we desired to do this and to do it well, immediately, we had a great response to our capital campaign,” Moretz said.
“We have the community’s support. We have the backing and that’s certainly very important to us,” she added.
“You’ve got to trust who you’re leaving your child with, and for me, that speaks volumes of what the community thinks and feels about the work of the Salvation Army here in Knox County.”
