Here’s how the YMCA plans to use a $1 million grant to improve child care in Brockton

BROCKTON — The Old Colony YMCA plans to use a $1 million state grant to renovate child care space in the city to better serve the community and invest in the downtown.

“It’s a win-win all the way around,” said CEO and President Vinnie Marturano.

The renovation project will be at the youth division building at 465 Main St., which is down the street from the city’s central branch.

Improvements will be made in the lower portion of the building to create more space and repurpose underused areas.

Kim Moran, senior vice president of child development and protection for Old Colony YMCA, said the project will add another classroom, create an open indoor place space, update bathroom facilities and add more office space.

Accessibility improvements and electric and ventilation system upgrades will be done during the renovation, Marturano said.

The classrooms in the basement of the Old Colony YMCA in brockton pictured on Thursday, Dec. 3, 2020, at 465 Main St are going to be renovated as part of the grant the YMC received.

The youth division building is used for before- and after-school programs for school-aged children. Now it is used for full-day remote learning, Moran said.

In Brockton, the YMCA has another space at Centre Street for students to participate in remote learning. There is also programming for students learning in a hybrid model in districts in the other communities the organization serves.

“We’re trying to fill the need for parents,” she said. “It’s about where they need us the most.”

The grant helps nonprofit organizations serving primarily low-income families and communities renovate or build new child care facilities.

Marturano said the YMCA applied to the competitive grant previously, and this year it was successful. The organization was one of seven organizations from around the state selected.

The entire project will cost about $2.4 million, so the YMCA will need to raise money to make up the rest of the costs, he said.

The small pool that is no longer in use at the Old Colony YMCA child care center pictured on Thursday, Dec. 3, 2020, at 465 Main St. in Brockton is going to be filled in to make room for new classrooms, bathrooms and an indoor play space.

Pre-pandemic, child care represented 25 percent of Old Colony YMCA’s operating revenue, Marturano said. It had the licensed capacity to care for 2,800 kids at 48 different sites around the South Shore.

The number of children the organization can care for has been reduced to meet state requirements aimed to minimize the spread of COVID-19.

This year, people have realized how important and critical child care is to families and the economic system, he said.

“We continue to follow the crisis in child care that has been significantly heightened during the pandemic situation we all find ourselves in,” Marturano said.

The grant also helps the YMCA show its commitment to Brockton and development in downtown, he said.

The entrance of the Old Colony YMCA child care center pictured on Thursday, Dec. 3, 2020, at 465 Main St. in Brockton will be moving to the side of the building after renovations. There will be a new handicap ramp as well as an elevator that goes to all floors including the basement.

Marturano said the city and state have shown a similar commitment to bringing more proactive development to Main Street near the Brockton central branch.

Upgrading the child division building is a way to invest in downtown and provide infrastructure to serve the community, he said.

Marturano is hopeful that this will lead to other investment in the area.

SourceThe Enterprise