For the last few months, the community has been watching the progress of the upcoming Pebbles to Rocks Childcare Centre, which is under construction on Wellock Road. With a $3.1 million fundraising goal on the line, the team has been hard at work, as they inch closer and closer to the end. Yesterday, in partnership with Southern Plains Co-op, they held a barbecue fundraiser. Attendees paid $5 for either a hot dog or a burger and a drink, with all of the proceeds going back to the daycare. Megan Charlton, the chairman of the board for the daycare, was excited to see a large turnout.
"I think we've finally reached a point in this process where we've sort of taken everything out into the light. I think people are starting to realize that we're actually under construction now, and everything's moving and happening, which is super exciting. I think that the more we come out into the public and meet everybody, the more people are going to realize that the daycare is in construction. And yeah, I'm really excited about that."
The project is about halfway funded, thanks to a more than $1.3 million grant from the Ministry of Education, $200,000 from the South Saskatchewan Economic Partnership, and a handful of corporate donations from Kingston Midstream and Tundra Oil and Gas. While their team is appreciative of where they're at funding-wise, Charlton recognizes that Pebbles to Rocks has a long road ahead of them.
"Obviously, that is not nearly enough for what we need to build an entire new daycare capable of holding 90 kids, so we're definitely gonna need lots of community support. We're gonna be out in the public trying to fundraise as much as we can over the next few months, because it takes a lot of money and a lot of resources to build an entire daycare for that many kids."
One of those fundraising efforts is their upcoming Pebbles to Picasso Art Contest and Live Auction Event. The charity is taking submissions of art from local artists and kids, with the top 20 pieces being auctioned off in an event in October. Art submissions are being accepted at the Estevan Early Years Family Resources Centre until September 21.
"I personally have not seen any submissions yet. It hasn't been very long since we put out the call for it, and the deadline's still not till September, but we're really excited. We hope lots of kids get out and do some sort of artwork and submit it for us so that we can auction it off at our live event," she added.
"I think most people who are parents in Estevan realize how difficult it is to find child care in Estevan, and how child care spaces are difficult to come by. So we're really hoping that we can sort of make affordable child care for more families in Estevan, and I think that's kind of what has been driving this whole project. I'm trying to bring affordable child care to more parents and families in Estevan."
Charlton said that their organization appreciates the help they received from Southern Plains Co-op, which provided everything they needed to serve hot dogs and burgers to the community. The final tally of the funds raised has yet to be announced.