‘Really meets community needs’: Rotary Club of Greater Bend awards $100,000 to nonprofit co-op for child care expansion

(Update: Adding video, comments from the Rotary Club and ReVillage)

BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) --  Dozens of new child care spots will be added in Bend, as the Rotary Club of Greater Bend has awarded $100,000 to the nonprofit ReVillage Community Co-op Childcare Center. 

"This, we felt, was time to be looking at another signature project," Rotary Club member Kit Carmiencke said Tuesday. "That is a project that really meets community needs." 

The club's signature project addresses challenges for children and families.

ReVillage co-founder Becca Ellis said "Our mission at ReVillage is to provide high-quality, affordable child care for every family in Central Oregon."

ReVillage is a nonprofit certified child care cooperative where parents serve in the classroom as aides. 

There are two sites in Bend -- First Presbyterian Church and Bend Methodist Church -- for 31 children ages 2-5.

The funding will help ReVillage open its third and its newest site at Grace First Lutheran Church. At the church, there will be 60 new spots available.

Ellis said, "This grant money is going to allow us to create a beautiful space for the kids, as far as just updating the spaces, but also buying appropriate furniture and play-based supplies to enhance their time and support their learning as they grow."

Past projects for the Rotary Club of Greater Bend include starting the Boys and Girls Club and construction of a Habitat for Humanity home.

The club raises money through a variety of fundraisers. 

Carmiencke said, "(The Great Drake Park Duck Race) sale tickets will go to a charity organization. We also have a wine raffle for club members, and we raise funds that way. We also have sports ad sales."

Here is the press release:

Rotary Club of Greater Bend has announced a gift of $100,000 to ReVillage Childcare Center for a Signature Project to address fundamental challenges faced by children and their families in our community.

This funding supports a new, third site operated by the nonprofit, which currently operates two sites in Bend for 31 children, age 2-5. ReVillage will open its newest site at Grace First Lutheran Church, providing up to 60 new spots of high-quality, affordable child care for families with low and middle-median incomes.

ReVillage was founded to build affordable, accessible and equitable child care cooperatives. Their programs use community spaces, train parents as child care assistants and partner with Baby Promise, Preschool Promise and NeighborImpact to provide needed resources and subsidies for families otherwise stretched to pay the rising cost of child care.

In partnership with RCGB, ReVillage will use the funding for needed supplies, kid-sized furniture, play-based learning tools, and other critical investments to support children in this new site.

Deschutes County is considered a child care desert by many, with regulated child care spots available for only 10-20% of infants, toddlers and preschool children.

“With housing costs that limit working families' ability to afford rent or mortgage and other basic needs, Bend is increasingly becoming a place that is not affordable for young families. ReVillage was created to expand affordable, high-quality child care to plant seeds in our childcare desert,” shared co-founder Becca Ellis.

“Rotary Club of Greater Bend is dedicated to creating positive change, and that starts here in our own community,” said RCGB President Brian Stallcop, adding, “We were impressed by ReVillage’s approach to play-based learning, their dedication to fair compensation and benefits for early education professionals, and the overall impact this project can have on our local workforce. This grant is an investment in the future of Bend, with the intent to make it a place where more young families can thrive.”

“As one of Bend’s oldest congregations, Grace First Lutheran Church has watched and weathered over a century of change and growth. We’re proud to reach beyond our congregational walls and invite ReVillage in as a partner, serving and supporting our neighbors in raising healthy children -- one of the best investments we can imagine in the world we want to see,” said Pastor Andrew Bansemer.

About Rotary Club of Greater Bend

Rotary Club of Greater Bend (RCGB) is a local service organization affiliated with Rotary International and has been serving the Bend community since 1976. With more than 100 active members, RCGB Rotarians regularly participate in hands-on service projects throughout Central Oregon. Rotary members are people of action dedicated to our community, who proudly live by Rotary’s motto of “Service Above Self.” 

About ReVillage

ReVillage works to ensure that all Central Oregon families— across income, race, language, orientation & identity, and background — have the care and opportunity they need to thrive in work and in play by cultivating affordable, accessible, equitable childcare cooperatives; empowering parents; cultivating community; and advocating for system-wide, family-friendly practices and policies.