The Thorold Community Activities Group (TCAG) is moving forward with their plans for a day care at the Allanburg Community Centre.
During Tuesday's city council meeting, the organization’s executive director Megan Gilchrist gave a presentation on the project.
“This is very exciting for us,” she said. “The Region has identified the Thorold South, Allanburg, Port Robinson corridor as a childcare desert. Meaning there’s not enough childcare spaces to accommodate the number of people who need it.”
The TCAG started pursuing the expansion because they ran out of space at their current location.
“We have hit the maximum allowable square footage per child," said Gilchrist. "Because we’re sort of landlocked our only opportunity to expand is to go to other locations.”
The expansion will allow the TCAG to effectively double its childcare capacity, adding spots for 13 toddlers, 24 preschoolers and 15 JK/SK kids.
“We hope that as those children age up we’ll also be adding school age programming for before and after school care as well,” said Gilchrist.
Eventually, the TCAG also wants to bring extended recreational programming to the centre, such as a community garden, extended summer camp programming, and other recreation services.
To make the necessary upgrades to the Allanburg Community Centre, the TCAG has received $350,000 in funding from the Region.
The 52 new licensed childcare spaces will be programmed and made available by September 2025.
To get into the day care, parents will have to go through the Region’s child care registry.
