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 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.
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 is looking forward to helping our community have an additional high-quality, reliable, and affordable option for childcare.
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”.
Taylor and her husband, Nathan, live in Kenesaw with their two children, Harper and Huxlee. She was born and raised in the community of Kenesaw and attended Kindergarten through 12th grade at Kenesaw Public School. She is currently the school’s preschool teacher. She strongly believes in the importance of early childhood education starting at birth. As an educator, she knows what sturdy foundation children need to grow and thrive. She is excited to be a part of this journey with the daycare to see children in the community benefit from the opportunity.
Kathy Uldrich grew up in Clay Center, Nebraska, and now resides in Juniata, Nebraska (43 years). She is the pastor of the Juniata United Methodist Church and Holstein Grace United Methodist Church, and former pastor of the Kenesaw United Methodist Church. It is important to Kathy that the new child care center continue the ministry that was started 148 years ago when the church was established in the Kenesaw community. The physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual formation of children is very important. “Start children off on the way they should go, and even when they are old they will not turn from it.” Proverbs 22:6
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!
Carrie and her husband live southeast of Kenesaw and have 3 children. She is a Registered Nurse and has worked at Mary Lanning Healthcare for 22 years. She is currently the Director of Home Care Services. Carrie believes in having a strong family community and desires to sustain and grow the rural community of Kenesaw. She has experience with funding resources, such as grants, as well as licensure and regulations in her healthcare experiences. She also knows many young families that have had difficulty finding daycare in or around Kenesaw, including families that drive miles outside of their way to take kids to daycare. She is excited to be a part of the Board for the Kenesaw United Child Care Coalition and looks forward to serving the community of Kenesaw and nearby communities for many years to come.
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