Achi news desk-
After 40 years of serving families in the Central Okanagan, the Childhood Connections center in Kelowna is in its final days after the province did not renew its contract, which was its main source of funding.
A rally was held on Saturday with the hope of sending a message of how vital the business is to local families.
“This organization has been here for 40-plus years, taking care of that contract serving families, serving child care providers,” said Childhood Connections board director Betty Cleland.
“And with this proposal, we lost out in an application. We are at risk of staying open.”
If the business cannot secure funding, its future is unknown.
“(It) leaves us with a lot of unanswered questions,” Cleland said.
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“Clearly, the community has told us again that we are doing a great job. The government has never told us that we are not like that, why tear what is not broken?”
The rally was organized by parents and families who are pressing the provincial government to find another way to keep the center active, but also for the government to take a closer look at why it is so important to the community.
“They should look with their hearts, and not just with dollars and cents, and they have to look at the whole picture,” said center user Moshe Yaroski.
“The toy library will be closed and none of it will go to the new organization,” said center user Melissa Costa.
“They are going to be using that grant money to set up a new building and a new toy library and recreate something that already exists.”
The decision ultimately removes a facility that serves both sides of the bridge.
“(BC Premier David Eby) needs to look at this carefully,” said Garrett Millsap, West Kelowna city councilor and center user, “and think why we need to close this when we have so many kids using this facility and not just Kelowna; West Kelowna too
The successful bidder for the contract is the YMCA. However, staff at the Childhood Links center say the fight is not over yet.
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