ABOUT US
We believe that investing in early childhood education will sustain Kenesaw for generations to come.
Kenesaw currently has only one licensed in-home child care provider. A recent survey conducted by Communities for Kids – Adams County found 51 children under age 6 in the Kenesaw area currently need child care. Dozens more school-aged children also need before-and-after school care. Many parents leave their children with unlicensed providers, older family members, older siblings, or oftentimes a combination of all of these.
Additionally, Kenesaw Public School does not have any before or after-school programs. This leaves many children going home to an empty house and left unsupervised outside of school hours.
The gap in access to quality child care is felt by our whole community – it’s time to address it.
OUR STORY
How it Started:
Eight Kenesaw community members who wanted to address the child care gap formed the Kenesaw United Child Care Coalition (KUCCC). A child care center was identified as the best way to address all the issues our community was facing in regards to access to quality child care.
Location for a child care center:
The Kenesaw United Methodist Church had decided to close and KUCCC approached the congregation about acquiring their building.
The congregation was ecstatic about the legacy of their church living on in a facility dedicated to Kenesaw’s children.
The church is in great condition and in an ideal location, located just two blocks from the school and one block from the city park.
About the Facility:
- Owned and operated by the non-profit corporation
- Managed by a director, who is governed by the non-profit’s board of directors
- Currently remodeling facility with plans to accommodate up to 75 children ages 6 weeks to 12 years old
- Separate classrooms for infants, toddlers, preschoolers, and school-aged children
- Part of Nebraska’s Step Up to Quality program ensuring the education and care provided are meeting the necessary standards in early-childhood education
- KUCCC will also provide tuition assistance or scholarships based on a need to ensure ALL families who wish to use the child care facility have the ability to do so
- Part of Nebraska’s Step Up to Quality program ensuring the education and care provided are meeting the necessary standards in early-childhood education
- Part of Nebraska’s Step Up to Quality program ensuring the education and care provided are meeting the necessary standards in early-childhood education
- Accessible for all children and their various needs and abilities
Meet Our Director
Megan and her husband, Cody, and live outside of Kenesaw on a farm with their 3 kids; Landon, Harper & Emmersyn. She loves being a part of a small community with strong roots. High-quality child care is important to every rural community and she loves helping Kenesaw have a high-quality, reliable, and affordable option for childcare.
Meet Our Board of Directors
Angela lives in Kenesaw with her husband and four children. She owns her own website and graphic design business. She grew up in Omaha but is now a 100% fully converted small-town fan. She firmly believes that all children deserve to start school on a level playing field and quality early childhood education is one of the best ways to ensure that.
Cindy and her husband, Dave, live and farm southwest of Kenesaw. They have two children, Dalton and Dylan. She often says how much she appreciates marrying into the Kenesaw community and how fortunate she feels to be a part of a community that supports and cares for its youth in all aspects, from sports to the arts. She is a ten-year member of the Kenesaw Board of Education. Cindy previously worked as a Parent Partner at Children and Adolescent Clinic in Hastings where she helped connect families of children with special medical needs with resources and services available for them. Cindy also believes that the greatest investment society and our community can make is in our children.
Kenesaw has been Deb’s home her entire life and often refers to herself as the “lifer”. She has been part of the Krull Agency Inc/Jones Group for the past 33 years and also part of the Kenesaw Community Development programs for the past 30 years. Her community goal is to strive for improvement and meeting the ongoing needs to keep Kenesaw a strong family-oriented caring community. The type of community in which families will feel safe and secure, like she has, and want to call Kenesaw “HOME”.
Bonnie and her husband Mike, both originally from Hastings, have lived in Kenesaw for nearly forty years. Bonnie taught 7-12 English, taught 7-8 Physical Education, and coached for 36 years at Kenesaw Public Schools before retiring in 2021. As a teacher, she has witnessed the positive community support for education (K-12), and she is excited that the community has taken such a responsibility with and has invested in the Kenesaw United Child Care Coalition for the nurturing of infants, toddlers, and pre-K children as well. An African proverb states: It takes a village to raise a child. Bonnie is proud to be a board member of the KUCCC in the village of Kenesaw, which provides excellent early childhood care, preparing children for their future education.
Morgan Fischer grew up on a farm outside of Glenvil, Nebraska. She and Daniel Fischer were married in 2018, and had their first child, Madden, in May 2020. Morgan and her family currently reside in Kenesaw. Morgan enjoys being outdoors and playing with their fur baby, Benson. She loves to spend time with her family and friends, playing volleyball, traveling, volunteering, and cheering on the Huskers! She pursued her dream of becoming an occupational therapist and is currently a pediatric occupational therapist at Children’s Rehab Center in Hastings. As an occupational therapist, it has been important on educating and implementing early intervention and education to children and caregivers in order to ensure success in the child’s academia, social interactions, and all other activities of daily living!
Betty and Gary Bittfield live in Kenesaw. They enjoy reading and traveling. Their favorite activity is spending time with their grandsons. Betty is a retired preschool and elementary teacher. Having worked with many children through the years, she knows that a quality early childhood education provides them with a good start in life. Learning social skills, self-confidence, and independence is vital to their development. Betty supports giving all the children in our Kenesaw community a sturdy foundation on which to grow. “Children are a gift from the Lord; they are a real blessing.” Psalm 127:3
Johnna, along with her husband and family, have been a part of the Kenesaw community for over 20 years. She has been an educator, teaching all ages from preschool to high school, for 27 years. She knows the importance and high need for having a quality child care center in the Kenesaw community to not only meet the needs of working parents, but to help love and nurture these children. She is grateful for the opportunity to be a part of such a wonderful organization that can help better the lives of others.
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