Beginning in 2001, our services were first provided in the basement of a local church as a day care. Years on, we were able to secure a new location at the (now former) Condon Elementary School in one of their unused classrooms. This upgrade gave us access to child accessible restrooms and included a kitchenette. Our overarching goal however, was to eventually find or carve out a new space for ourselves in order to become a Certified Center.
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After 16 years of utilizing space in the south wing of the Condon Grade School, our community decided it was time for our own home.
Over the course of 18 months of fundraising, including a $305,000 grant from the Ford Family Foundation and a $100,000 grant from the Oregon Community Foundation, we had raised enough money to bring our dreams to reality. On June 6, 2017, we broke ground on the site of our new building.
Our new 4,000 square foot building was designed to meet the needs of children and families in our community with increased classroom and outdoor play spaces, a fully equipped kitchen and cafeteria, parking and drop-off areas which will facilitate the transition between home and school in a safe location, and a new and welcoming feeling for all of our community members.
Then finally, on May 17, 2018, we moved into our beautiful new home!
During the Covid-19 pandemic, our community saw an influx of families relocating or moving back to Gilliam County. What we were unprepared for was the additional number of children needing Early Education and care. Prior to the pandemic, our student capacity for the Preschool program and Infant/Toddler program was 20 and 8 children respectively. For the first time since our grand reopening in 2018 we were faced with placing families on a waitlist for each classroom. To meet this increased demand and ensure there is an early learning and care slot for every child in Gilliam County who needs one, Condon Child Care is proposing to expand its CELC facility by constructing three additional classrooms.
In the summer of 2022, the CELC Board of Directors voted in favor of the proposed Expansion Plan which quickly went on to gain the support of our community members, and our local Gilliam County Court.
The Condon Early Learning Center Expansion Project will be constructed upon the facility’s current parking lot, as well as an adjacent vacant lot owned by the Condon Child Care. As shown in the attached drawings, the project will expand the existing facility by 5,240 sq/ft and provide three additional classrooms, as well as additional office space, storage, and staff bathrooms.
Two of the three new classrooms will be dedicated to our Preschool program which will alow us to double the number of children enrolled. We will then be able to have a Toddler-only program which will take place in the classroom where we currently teach preschool where we can enroll up to 10 children. Our Infants-only program will remain where it is with a max capacity of 8 infants.
The third classroom will be available for 15-20 school-age students for afterschool and summer care. Currently, Condon does not have a regulated care provider for school-age children.
The Condon Early Learning Center Expansion Project will meet several important community needs, including, but not limited to:
Creating four additional slots for infants and young toddlers;
Creating six additional slots for older toddlers;
Doubling capacity for preschool slots from 20 to 40;
Providing a space for up to 20 school-age children for afterschool and summer care;
Eliminating the current waitlist for infant-toddler care; and
Strengthening the local and regional early learning and care system for families through enhanced partnerships with more than a dozen community organizations and local government agencies.
Thanks to the generosity of our many donors, we raised over $800,000 needed to fund our current facility in 2018.
With their continued support and generosity, we are close to funding the $750,000 needed in order to fulfill our Expansion Project goal. We thank each and every one of them!
Our biggest donor for the Expansion Project comes directly from the County we operate in. We are so thankful for their $1,700,000 contribution and appreciate their continued support of our Center and the their support for access to Early Childhood Education in Gilliam County.
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