The Milford community is celebrating the opening of a new childcare facility, the Milford Childhood Learning Center, a new 501(c)(3) nonprofit childcare center founded to combat Nebraska's severe shortage of childcare options.
The project was made possible through the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services’ business partnership childcare expansion grant. It was a joint effort between a grassroots collective of concerned community members, Bellwood Mennonite Church, Southeast Community College's building construction program and the Milford nonprofit management firm, Advanced Association Management.
The project was founded and chaired in kind by AAM's dedicated mother-daughter team, Kathi and Kylie Schildt.
SCC building-construction students built the center as a residential home during the fall 2023 semester. The building was then moved a mere 1,650 feet away to a parcel of land next to Bellwood Mennonite Church. A team of local contractors then modified the building to meet commercial, ADA, fire marshal and childcare licensing requirements.
The center features four new classrooms plus an outdoor nature classroom, prioritizing expanding access to infant care. They hope to care for as many as 56 children at the facility, completely closing Milford’s 52-child access gap.
The MCLC’s family interest form currently has 78 children submitted, all local children under the age of five.
The MCLC is chaired by a board of local voting directors consisting of Tim Springer of Milford Mennonite Church, Katie Spohn of Bruning Law Firm, Dr. Brandon Henley of Memorial Health Care Systems and Dave Welsch, current president of the Milford Public School district school board.
“Access to affordable, high-quality childcare is a necessity for working families,” said Kylie Schildt, a mother of a 4-year-old and now 2-year-old.
Schildt and her husband, both graduates of Milford High School, relocated back to Milford from Kansas City with hopes of planting roots to raise their young family.
“Milford has been dealing with a 50% overall childcare deficit and a staggering 90% deficit in infant care spots,” she said.
“I've struggled consistently with mile-long waitlists and was faced with the lack of infant care last year after my in-home provider retired and I was unable to find a spot for my one-year-old son. Only 1 in 10 infants in dual working homes in Milford have access to licensed childcare. But with the opening of this new center, we are working to close the gap and make Milford a welcoming place for young families, like ours, to call home.”
The project partnered with the Seward County Community Development Partnership, an affiliate of Nebraska's Communities for Kids initiative. MCLC worked in cooperation with Lindsey Meyer of Our Redeemer Little Learners and Carlee Carter of Little Cubs childcare centers, two other expansion grant awardees.
The collective effort awarded more than $1.5 million in childcare expansion funding and completely closed the childcare access gap in Seward County.
The MCLC has raised more than $300,000 in local donations to fund the project since its inception in June 2023. The MCLC is just $100,000 away from being entirely a debt-free organization.
The MCLC invites those interested to celebrate the new center at an open house on Sunday, May 5, from 3 – 6 p.m. Community members, donors, prospective parents, teachers and the general public are encouraged to attend.
“Affordable childcare is essential for families, businesses, and the entire community,” said Kathi Schild small-business owner and current MCLC interim center director. “We're thrilled to be part of the solution and hope many will join us in supporting this important community resource for Milford's young families.”
Learn more about the MCLC at its open house or visit www.MilfordChildhood.com.
