SIDNEY — Wilma Valentine Childcare is a non-profit childcare center that provides opportunity for children in preschool and ages 3-5 with and without disabilities to learn together. Open weekdays from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. and with a low staff-to-child ratio means they can support the work schedule of a parent who has a child with special needs because of a disability or behavior issue.
Match Day gifts will enable Wilma Valentine Childcare to partner with the Shelby Hills Preschool program to buy equipment and to make improvements to the playground shared by both programs. If sufficient amounts are raised, additional money will go toward staff training.
“Some equipment needs replaced to ensure safety on the playground and the staff is also interested in purchasing items that can be used both indoors and outdoors that will inspire creativity and be of benefit on the cold, rainy days that keep us indoors,” said executive director Nancy Stiefel. “We are seeing more kids with diverse needs and we want to pay for staff to get some additional training to better work with children with greater issues.”
Last year, Wilma Valentine Childcare used Community Foundation Match Day gifts to purchase a secure keycard access to the gym doors in the Shelby Hills building. The childcare is now in the building that houses the preschool and often uses the gym when it is too cold or wet outside. The gym also serves as the assembly area for children that attend the Sidney City Schools preschool at Whittier, as they wait for the bus or parents to pick them up.
“We also used our Match Day money to compensate Fairlawn Local Schools for the use of a bus and a driver for our summer program field trips,” noted Stiefel. “Fairlawn was a great partner and took our staff and children on field trips. They went many places such as Dayton’s Boonshoft Museum of Discovery, Anna’s Trackside Treats, the Sidney Fire Department, New Bremen’s Komminsk Park, the Botkins Pool, and Covington’s Stillwater Prairie Reserve.”
To support Wilma Valentine Childcare on Match Day, gifts must be made payable to the Community Foundation of Shelby County with: Match/Wilma Valentine noted on the memo or in an accompanying form. Details and forms are available at the Community Foundation website at commfoun.com and at Wilma Valentine Childcare, 1200 S. Children’s Home Road, Sidney. Gifts must be received on or before Dec. 3 to be eligible for up to $5,000 in matching money. Credit card gifts may be made on Dec. 3 only on the Community Foundation site.
