OVERTON — The group looking to address the need for childcare options in Overton is making a change that will best leverage the resource of the community. Rather than open a childcare center, they are looking at a dual in-home model.
The Little Eagles Learning Center was born of an ongoing discussion by the community members of Overton, how to address the lack of quality childcare options in the town.
It’s a conversation many towns across Nebraska and indeed, the country, are having.
The current capacity of the in-home childcare is 32 children, with there still being a gap in capacity of 25 children who are still needing care. Overton residents complained of having to take their children as far as Kearney to find care.
In May 2021, Overton was selected as a Communities for Kids, C4K community and a group of residents began working toward the goal of increasing the childcare options.
By Sept. 2021, the Overton C4K group officially became the Little Eagles Learning Center, (LELC) non-profit organization.
LELC members created a mission statement that reads, “We aspire to create high quality care for children of all ages that provide tools and resources necessary to promote social/emotional, physical and cognitive development, we are committed to Overton’s future as a family-friendly community,”
As a short-term solution, childcare has been offered by LELC in the basement of the Overton’s Holy Rosary Catholic Church.
Overton’s Holy Rosary Catholic Church, (Brian Neben, Central Nebraska Today)
The initial idea of the LELC group was to construct a new 3,000 square foot facility inside Overton after it was found that renovating an existing space would be more costly, LELC Coordinator Paula Osborne said.
However, Shonna Werth, Assistant Vice President of Early Childhood, who oversees the Tri-Cities area and portions south central Nebraska, approached the group with a different idea – build a duplex with two licensed in-home childcare providers.
The idea has several advantages, for one it would cut the cost of construction in half, Osborne said.
It also decreases the number of staff that would be required in a childcare facility. Osborne said qualified staff can be hard to find, especially in a smaller community.
There are also more stringent requirements the Department of Health and Human Services requires for a childcare center that are not asked of an in-home provider.
The change also allows for high school students to volunteer their time caring for children and then be able to get paid for it when they turn 16, Osborne said.
The change from a center to an in-home model, “is huge for us,” Osborne said.
To that end, a duplex will be constructed that will allow for a total of 24 children to be cared for.
Little Eagles Learning Center sign, (Brian Neben, Central Nebraska Today)
The space will also answer other needs of the community. Osborne said that with the closure of the community space in Overton, it has left the senior residents with no place to gather. The duplex will also feature a community space up front.
The childcare areas and community space will be separate from each other, but both spaces will help to address the needs of different generations in Overton.
There will also be a space in the back that will be a multi-purpose space and the lawn in the back will be fenced in to allow for the children to play outside.
“Over this past year, our team has worked closely with Wilkins Construction to compile plans for us to move into our own facility to further address the childcare needs in the community and surrounding area; this new build/facility will allow us to double our capacity,” the LELC stated.
The tentative timeline now is for footings to be poured in December, with the hope of being open by July 2024.
The LELC launched their capital campaign in July and has been reaching out to some of their larger donors.
In addition, the LELC is also part of the 2023 Give BIG Overton, under the umbrella of the Lexington Community Foundation’s Give BIG Lexington campaign. Their goal this year is $5,000.
“LELC continues to be committed to Overton’s future as a family-friendly environment and we so much appreciate the support from the community and those who have donated thus far,” their Give BIG Overton page reads in part.
The link for the Give BIG Overton page can be found here. Online donations for the LELC can be found at this link.
Children at Play Sign, (Brian Neben, Central Nebraska Today)
Osborne thanked the Overton community for their continued support and is glad to be up and running with their fundraising efforts.
She stressed that this center will not only benefit Overton, but surrounding communities as well.
