S1E4: Part 1: The Gothenburg Impact Center w. Nicole Hetz & Colten Venteicher
Nebraska Extension Early Childhood Program Area-Emily Manning, Dr. Holly Hatton, Ingrid Lindal, Erin Kampbell, Linda Reddish, Katie Krause, and LaDonna Werth
Author
08/28/2023
Added
5
Plays
Description
The Good Life in Early Life travels to Gothenburg to hear two community members’ accounts as the town identified the childcare gap and come together to find a solution. The Gothenburg Impact Center was born from one community’s efforts to pool their unique ideas and resources to meet multiple community needs with one building. https://www.gothenburgimpactcenter.com/
The following music was used for this media project:
Music: Afterparty Review by Sascha Ende
Free download: https://filmmusic.io/song/2962-afterparty-review
License (CC BY 4.0): https://filmmusic.io/standard-license
"Wholesome" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Searchable Transcript
Toggle between list and paragraph view.
- [00:00:00.125](upbeat music)
- [00:00:10.170]This is "The Good Life in Early Life,"
- [00:00:12.750]a production of Nebraska Extension.
- [00:00:14.970]I'm your host, Emily Manning,
- [00:00:16.590]an Early Childhood Extension Educator in Seward County.
- [00:00:19.560]For this episode, I traveled to Gothenburg, Nebraska,
- [00:00:22.440]a community that has risen to the challenge
- [00:00:24.570]of the childcare gap in a noteworthy way.
- [00:00:27.120]Be prepared to laugh and possibly cry happy tears
- [00:00:30.210]as the two guests share their heartwarming
- [00:00:32.130]and inspiring accounts of their work
- [00:00:33.930]on the Gothenburg Impact Center.
- [00:00:35.970]Our first guest serves
- [00:00:37.350]as the Gothenburg Early Childhood Learning Coalition
- [00:00:40.080]community coordinator, a position she's held since 2019.
- [00:00:43.680]In this role, she helps facilitate and advocate
- [00:00:46.230]for quality early childhood experiences in the community.
- [00:00:49.110]She works with parents to help them find care
- [00:00:51.060]and education opportunities for their children,
- [00:00:53.190]supports providers in their important work with children,
- [00:00:55.590]and connects with the community
- [00:00:57.000]to address ongoing capacity issues.
- [00:00:59.400]She and her husband have lived in Gothenburg since 2016
- [00:01:02.880]and have two teenage children.
- [00:01:04.920]Welcome to the show, Nichole Hetz.
- [00:01:07.050]Thank you.
- [00:01:07.890]Happy to have you here.
- [00:01:09.300]Our second guest is an attorney in Gothenburg, Nebraska,
- [00:01:12.480]who focuses on estate planning and probate,
- [00:01:14.880]real estate, business and commercial law,
- [00:01:17.280]and economic development.
- [00:01:18.690]He's an active member of numerous community organizations
- [00:01:21.660]involved in economic development efforts,
- [00:01:23.820]including early childhood education, housing,
- [00:01:26.280]and business recruitment and expansion.
- [00:01:28.320]In recent years, he has led the effort in Gothenburg
- [00:01:31.140]for the investment of nearly $15 million in housing
- [00:01:34.800]and the construction of the Gothenburg Impact Center,
- [00:01:37.680]a community facility
- [00:01:38.790]that will provide a long-term, sustainable solution
- [00:01:41.400]to childcare for local families.
- [00:01:43.500]Welcome to the show, Colten Venteicher.
- [00:01:45.960]Thanks. Happy to be here.
- [00:01:47.310]Yeah, thanks for being here, both of you.
- [00:01:49.530]So question that I like to ask my guests on my podcast is,
- [00:01:53.670]what is a funny memory from your childhood about you
- [00:01:57.330]or a favorite memory just in general from your childhood?
- [00:02:00.690]I don't have the best memory from when I was a little kid,
- [00:02:03.150]but I do remember,
- [00:02:04.620]if I think about when I was young
- [00:02:06.570]and particularly tied to, like, childcare pieces,
- [00:02:09.900]I always think about my teachers,
- [00:02:11.880]and that's just something that kind of builds on
- [00:02:15.600]with this Impact Center discussion
- [00:02:17.550]and everything we're doing here is
- [00:02:19.500]those teachers have such a huge impact on us
- [00:02:22.620]when we're young children,
- [00:02:24.210]and here I am 33, you know, 25, 30 years down the road,
- [00:02:28.800]I still see them on social media.
- [00:02:31.260]Some of my classmates,
- [00:02:32.730]one of my classmates from my preschool class
- [00:02:34.710]now teaches with my preschool teacher,
- [00:02:38.340]and so, I think, just the way
- [00:02:40.200]that the world comes full circle with that piece
- [00:02:42.360]is probably my favorite memory.
- [00:02:45.120]What were some of the things
- [00:02:46.110]that they did in their classroom
- [00:02:48.390]that were really special to you
- [00:02:50.370]that stands in your memory even now?
- [00:02:52.260]It's difficult for me to understand this
- [00:02:55.890]because I don't spend my days with children all the time,
- [00:03:00.180]and there's a reason for that.
- [00:03:02.040]The people that do that, they deserve a lot of credit,
- [00:03:05.160]but I had teachers that,
- [00:03:07.230]even though I had 40, 50, 60 kids
- [00:03:09.960]in my age group in my class,
- [00:03:11.880]made me feel like I was a focus of their efforts.
- [00:03:16.140]They helped me overcome obstacles
- [00:03:18.480]that I was individually dealing with,
- [00:03:20.340]and I think that that is a skill
- [00:03:23.430]that our teachers have that, like I said, I couldn't do
- [00:03:26.940]because there are a lot of little kids
- [00:03:28.890]that you're making a huge impact on.
- [00:03:31.260]Yeah, so making you feel special
- [00:03:34.590]even when you're a part of a group
- [00:03:36.060]and giving you that individualized attention
- [00:03:38.010]really just stood out to you
- [00:03:39.510]and has made you feel cared for,
- [00:03:42.360]and you remember that even now.
- [00:03:43.833]Yeah, absolutely. Yeah, yeah.
- [00:03:45.270]That was beautiful. Thank you for sharing.
- [00:03:47.970]I have nothing. Yes, you do.
- [00:03:49.904]Come on. I can't compete with that.
- [00:03:51.257]You should have gone first. I should have gone first.
- [00:03:53.656](Emily laughs)
- [00:03:55.530]Yeah, no, I think for me, my favorite memory,
- [00:03:58.920]one of my favorite memories,
- [00:04:00.390]when I think back to my childhood,
- [00:04:01.680]I grew up in a small town.
- [00:04:02.910]My grandparents lived on a farm a couple hours away,
- [00:04:06.630]and so we only got to visit them a couple times a year,
- [00:04:09.240]and so I think just the idea that freedom,
- [00:04:11.940]that running in the yard or playing in the trees
- [00:04:14.790]or playing in a barn was a novelty for this town girl,
- [00:04:20.130]and so, you know,
- [00:04:21.750]that was what came to mind when you asked the question.
- [00:04:24.120]Yeah, having a different experience going to the farm
- [00:04:27.840]and experiencing that freedom
- [00:04:29.190]of being in the country surrounded by nature
- [00:04:31.530]and the farm animals too, I'm guessing,
- [00:04:34.020]or not at that time.
- [00:04:35.310]Not many animals,
- [00:04:37.050]which gave us free reign then to all the buildings.
- [00:04:40.200]We didn't have to worry
- [00:04:41.220]about letting any of the livestock out.
- [00:04:43.080]We could just let our imaginations run wild
- [00:04:45.720]with wherever we were.
- [00:04:46.980]Yeah, love that. Perfect
- [00:04:49.110]I think a lot of people in Nebraska could probably relate
- [00:04:52.080]to that experience of going to grandpa and grandma's house
- [00:04:54.240]and run around in the outside in the country.
- [00:04:56.700]Yes, definitely.
- [00:04:58.230]All right, so let's get into why we're here today
- [00:05:01.320]to talk about this Impact Center that you are working on
- [00:05:04.740]and helping build with the community.
- [00:05:06.870]It's community effort.
- [00:05:08.220]Tell me what it is
- [00:05:10.260]for those people that don't know about it.
- [00:05:12.420]Sure, so we called it the Impact Center.
- [00:05:15.060]It's going to be a 40,000-square-foot building
- [00:05:18.750]that will include four integrated services,
- [00:05:21.300]so we'll have 17 classrooms for early learning,
- [00:05:25.110]infant through preschool.
- [00:05:26.910]At capacity, we'll be able to provide full-time care
- [00:05:29.790]for 195 kids in the community.
- [00:05:34.140]Along with that, we'll have a 400-person event center
- [00:05:37.260]that'll be able to house receptions, community events,
- [00:05:40.620]give the community a place to meet,
- [00:05:42.810]to gather that we don't have right now.
- [00:05:45.180]We also will have a healthy family center,
- [00:05:47.490]and this'll be a consolidation of services in the community
- [00:05:51.780]to really help support the wellbeing
- [00:05:54.030]of all families in town,
- [00:05:56.040]those who use the center and those who don't.
- [00:05:58.530]Just one place that families can go looking for services
- [00:06:01.710]or answers to questions
- [00:06:03.690]and that will be in collaboration
- [00:06:05.760]with our countywide Wellbeing Collaborative.
- [00:06:08.430]The fourth piece will be a sports training center,
- [00:06:11.040]and this will give space for our early learning children
- [00:06:13.680]to run and play on days when they can't go outside
- [00:06:16.770]because of the weather
- [00:06:17.610]and then also for the local sports teams to use for practice
- [00:06:21.510]on the evenings and the weekends.
- [00:06:23.040]I love this because it just sounds like,
- [00:06:25.230]so community-focused and it's hitting a need
- [00:06:28.260]for what families and children need
- [00:06:30.870]in so many different ways,
- [00:06:31.950]and just one place, one location, that they can go
- [00:06:34.440]to get all of these services, all of these facilities,
- [00:06:37.890]which is amazing.
- [00:06:39.030]That's very, very neat.
- [00:06:41.010]Colten, did you wanna add onto that?
- [00:06:42.960]Yeah, to build on Nichole's answer,
- [00:06:46.110]I think if you were to summarize in a couple of words
- [00:06:49.980]what we're doing with the Impact Center,
- [00:06:51.720]it's a game changer.
- [00:06:52.920]This is something where we sat down
- [00:06:56.100]and initially it was okay, early childhood focused,
- [00:06:59.190]but we had communication or conversations
- [00:07:02.100]with our community members to figure out,
- [00:07:04.110]okay, as a community project,
- [00:07:06.030]what are the things we need to address?
- [00:07:07.770]and that's why it's become something that's so much bigger.
- [00:07:10.320]So, it's gonna be a game changer for Gothenburg
- [00:07:12.960]because it's going to help us recruit individuals.
- [00:07:16.500]It's gonna help us retain employees.
- [00:07:18.450]We, to this scope,
- [00:07:20.070]I believe will be the first community in the state
- [00:07:22.410]to have something like this,
- [00:07:23.670]and hopefully we can lead the way
- [00:07:25.470]for other folks throughout the community
- [00:07:27.150]and still support the efforts really statewide
- [00:07:31.800]to keep our families,
- [00:07:32.880]keep our children in the state of Nebraska,
- [00:07:35.310]which is a huge goal for especially us rural communities.
- [00:07:38.940]I think it's a goal for the state of Nebraska, truthfully,
- [00:07:42.210]is to keep people here,
- [00:07:43.380]and what can we do to retain them, yeah.
- [00:07:45.870]So I'm really interested in, like, how did this idea start?
- [00:07:49.080]How did you know that you needed this in your community?
- [00:07:52.320]So we, about five years ago,
- [00:07:55.740]that was when Nichole and I got involved with it
- [00:07:58.170]but prior to that,
- [00:07:59.190]we as a community knew that we had a need for preschool
- [00:08:03.270]and so, really the first efforts tied to this
- [00:08:05.670]were the public school system stepped in and said,
- [00:08:08.707]"Okay, we're gonna add a public preschool program."
- [00:08:13.200]Important for helping ensure that our kids,
- [00:08:16.230]when they reach kindergarten, are prepared to start school
- [00:08:18.990]but what that also did for a lot of us
- [00:08:20.850]was it opened our eyes to the fact
- [00:08:22.530]that we simply did not have options
- [00:08:24.990]outside of the existing providers.
- [00:08:27.330]So we did a study, took our census data,
- [00:08:30.090]and compared that
- [00:08:31.740]to the existing licensed providers in town.
- [00:08:34.230]So we were able to tell that there were about 70 to 80 kids
- [00:08:38.880]who come from families with all available parents working,
- [00:08:42.120]which single-parent families
- [00:08:44.070]or both parents in the workforce,
- [00:08:45.630]which as a state, we are one of the leading states
- [00:08:48.330]with parents in the workforce.
- [00:08:50.550]We had about 70 to 80 kids
- [00:08:52.050]that didn't have access to a licensed spot,
- [00:08:54.780]and so what that really does
- [00:08:56.280]is that is a hindrance on our businesses.
- [00:08:58.800]It's a hindrance on our economy
- [00:09:00.960]because we don't have people in the workforce.
- [00:09:02.820]We don't have those people getting out there,
- [00:09:04.620]and it's hurtful for those kids
- [00:09:06.540]'cause they're not showing up to kindergarten prepared
- [00:09:09.210]and ready to go.
- [00:09:10.950]So we sat down with all of the existing providers in town
- [00:09:15.420]and we said, "Are you at capacity?"
- [00:09:17.280]and they told us, "Yes, we are."
- [00:09:19.900]Okay, we already knew that. Can't take anymore, please.
- [00:09:22.647]But we also said, "Okay, can you get any bigger?
- [00:09:26.100]I mean, can you build onto your space?
- [00:09:27.960]Can you add rooms?"
- [00:09:29.280]And they all came back and said,
- [00:09:30.877]"No, we're in, you know, church extra space.
- [00:09:33.990]We're in a 30-year-old building
- [00:09:35.940]that needs a new heat pump," right?
- [00:09:39.330]And so it became pretty apparent right out of the gate
- [00:09:41.850]that if we were gonna address it
- [00:09:43.230]and really create a long-term solution,
- [00:09:45.720]that it would require us to put up a new facility.
- [00:09:49.260]So like I said, that was about five years ago,
- [00:09:52.230]and obviously the different iterations
- [00:09:54.090]of what this facility looks like have changed
- [00:09:56.700]throughout that time period,
- [00:09:57.900]but we continue to have those significant problems.
- [00:10:00.960]We have over 50 kids on the wait list
- [00:10:03.540]for our two centers here in town.
- [00:10:06.060]The next opening for an infant spot is August of 2024.
- [00:10:11.130]So we have families-
- [00:10:11.963]Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait.
- [00:10:13.860]Let's back up. You said August of 2024?
- [00:10:17.370]That was not what I was expecting.
- [00:10:19.200]I thought it was gonna be a fall of this year.
- [00:10:21.420]Nope. Whoa.
- [00:10:22.380]And I have four kids, so I know how this process works.
- [00:10:24.960]You have to do some planning there.
- [00:10:27.450]We have people that are signing up for these spots
- [00:10:29.760]before they're even pregnant.
- [00:10:31.080]To me, obviously that's just, that's the biggest indicator
- [00:10:34.530]that we have good young families that are in this community,
- [00:10:38.160]they want to have children,
- [00:10:39.240]but how do we attract families to our community
- [00:10:42.570]if we don't have a place for them
- [00:10:44.130]to take their kids when they're working?
- [00:10:45.930]So that was the need,
- [00:10:47.280]and this Impact Center piece
- [00:10:48.840]is how we're hopefully gonna address it.
- [00:10:50.547]And then, at the same time
- [00:10:52.320]that we were having those conversations,
- [00:10:54.120]the city was having a conversation
- [00:10:55.860]about the need for a community event center,
- [00:10:59.220]and so that then became part of the community conversation.
- [00:11:02.970]Once we realized what we needed
- [00:11:05.040]to address the childcare issue,
- [00:11:06.990]then it became how this can become a community project,
- [00:11:11.190]and that's part of how it grew beyond just the childcare
- [00:11:15.330]to incorporating a lot of the other elements as well.
- [00:11:18.150]Got it.
- [00:11:18.983]So it was kind of happening at the same time
- [00:11:21.000]where everyone was saying like,
- [00:11:22.357]"We need this, we need this,
- [00:11:24.420]why don't we come together and build it together?"
- [00:11:27.390]is kind of what it sounds like.
- [00:11:28.860]That's right.
- [00:11:29.693]We're saving millions of dollars from a capital standpoint
- [00:11:32.580]in terms of just putting the facility up.
- [00:11:34.410]At the same time creating efficiencies
- [00:11:36.540]with our contractor and whatnot,
- [00:11:38.070]but we're also creating efficiencies
- [00:11:39.690]when it comes to operations.
- [00:11:41.070]So if the city was gonna operate
- [00:11:43.050]an event center on their own,
- [00:11:44.490]it's going to cost them well over $100,000 a year
- [00:11:47.760]to put that on.
- [00:11:48.840]Well, we looked at it and said,
- [00:11:50.317]"We're gonna have a full-time facility operation
- [00:11:53.430]already going on in this same location.
- [00:11:56.460]Maybe we can share some employee roles and responsibilities
- [00:11:59.820]and create some efficiency that way."
- [00:12:01.850]So I'm thinking about like maintenance, custodial work,
- [00:12:05.010]having that same kind of staff would cut down
- [00:12:08.370]on some of those costs and make it more efficient.
- [00:12:10.632]Absolutely. Yeah, cost-efficient.
- [00:12:12.540]For those who may be interested,
- [00:12:14.070]do you think you could share how you calculated the numbers
- [00:12:16.590]you've been mentioning for this project?
- [00:12:18.690]So it's a world that I was not prepared to dive into.
- [00:12:23.160]I have a business background and deal with a lot of numbers,
- [00:12:27.540]but the numbers related to childcare and just the operation
- [00:12:31.800]of those types of facilities are extremely complex
- [00:12:34.620]because you have private tuition rates,
- [00:12:36.840]you have Public Title 20 Subsidy,
- [00:12:39.420]you have food reimbursement rates.
- [00:12:42.750]Obviously, we have to take all of that, combine it,
- [00:12:45.720]figure out, okay, are we going to be
- [00:12:47.280]at full capacity per classroom
- [00:12:49.620]or are we gonna be short two kids?
- [00:12:51.450]How does that impact our bottom line?
- [00:12:53.430]And really, it all comes down to wages too,
- [00:12:55.770]and really that's the reason why we have this issue
- [00:12:58.230]in the state of Nebraska as a whole.
- [00:13:00.780]We cannot charge our families what it actually costs us
- [00:13:04.560]to pay people quality wages.
- [00:13:07.440]So how do we address that?
- [00:13:09.900]Well, what we did was we backed into it.
- [00:13:12.150]We said, "Okay, if we're going to charge a certain rate,
- [00:13:15.150]and that rate's gonna be affordable
- [00:13:16.740]for everybody in our community,
- [00:13:18.270]and we're going to pay our people livable wages,"
- [00:13:21.240]which we can talk about.
- [00:13:22.320]I know that's a fairly fluid term.
- [00:13:25.230]We know there's gonna be a shortfall operationally,
- [00:13:27.810]how do we fix that or how do we address it?
- [00:13:31.020]So, like I said, we backed into it.
- [00:13:32.280]We identified if we were to put this facility up,
- [00:13:34.710]pay people 12 to $15 an hour,
- [00:13:37.200]and not significantly increase their current rates,
- [00:13:40.770]we are gonna have
- [00:13:41.603]about a two to $300,000 operating shortfall.
- [00:13:44.040]How do you come up with that money, right?
- [00:13:46.740]Because we've already said we're not gonna pass it along
- [00:13:48.540]to the families, right? Right, right.
- [00:13:50.100]So that's where our partnerships with the city,
- [00:13:52.860]the school, and the hospital really were formed.
- [00:13:55.260]We went to them and said, "You guys know this is important.
- [00:13:59.880]You're already investing in childcare in some instances,
- [00:14:02.610]can you help us out with that budget shortfall
- [00:14:05.190]for the community?"
- [00:14:06.420]And we got very positive responses from all those groups,
- [00:14:09.630]to the point where the city's putting in $100,000 a year
- [00:14:12.600]to help out with our operations.
- [00:14:14.250]The school's putting in $175,000 a year.
- [00:14:17.370]Now, mind you, they're already spending that
- [00:14:19.230]on their current preschool program.
- [00:14:21.038]Got it. That's got 15 kids
- [00:14:22.710]All we said was,
- [00:14:23.947]"We'll take your 15 kids on,
- [00:14:25.590]and instead of over $10,000 cost per pupil,
- [00:14:28.590]you're gonna allocate that same money
- [00:14:30.120]and you benefit 140 kids at $700 cost per pupil."
- [00:14:34.680]So that was beneficial from that side.
- [00:14:36.840]And then the hospital stepped in and they've hired people
- [00:14:40.050]and had them quit two weeks later
- [00:14:41.910]because they couldn't find childcare.
- [00:14:43.470]Oh, wow. And so they said,
- [00:14:45.847]"Yep, we know this is something we want to be a part of,"
- [00:14:48.960]and they're the biggest employer in town.
- [00:14:50.760]They employ about 180 people.
- [00:14:52.860]They're gonna provide employer provided childcare
- [00:14:55.260]to every employee in there facility.
- [00:14:57.937]Oh, okay, so they're like buying spots, kind of?
- [00:15:00.833]Is that how you would describe it, or?
- [00:15:03.543]It's been a conversation on,
- [00:15:05.190]okay, are they promised a certain amount of spots.
- [00:15:07.440]We built enough capacity into this space
- [00:15:09.540]that you don't have a dedicated spot,
- [00:15:12.240]but they are a single full-time payor
- [00:15:15.060]for all of those families that are coming in.
- [00:15:17.310]So from our standpoint, operationally,
- [00:15:19.650]it's gonna help us because we just bill them
- [00:15:21.660]instead of having to go through individual people
- [00:15:24.210]and waiting on bills to be paid and whatnot, so.
- [00:15:26.732]Right, right.
- [00:15:27.717]And again, it benefits them
- [00:15:28.980]because it's gonna be a huge recruitment tool.
- [00:15:31.350]Absolutely.
- [00:15:32.250]To know that you have that guaranteed childcare education
- [00:15:36.540]right at their fingertips.
- [00:15:38.100]So you said it's been five years,
- [00:15:40.290]is that how long it's taken in total from beginning to end?
- [00:15:44.280]So, like Colten said,
- [00:15:45.810]this conversation has been going on in the community
- [00:15:48.420]for well over 10 years.
- [00:15:50.550]He and I both got involved in this process
- [00:15:53.160]about five years ago, and that's when the numbers,
- [00:15:55.710]we really got our numbers and we knew that gap of 70 kids.
- [00:15:59.400]And that was then
- [00:16:00.690]when the Gothenburg Early Childhood Learning Coalition Board
- [00:16:04.020]looked at the numbers and said,
- [00:16:05.317]"It's up to us to make a plan
- [00:16:07.500]on how to get those kids into licensed spots."
- [00:16:11.070]So looking at the numbers,
- [00:16:12.180]the board realized that really is another center,
- [00:16:15.330]that's the size of another center.
- [00:16:18.480]And so that's when the conversation
- [00:16:20.400]about needing to build something really started.
- [00:16:23.430]You know, like Colten said,
- [00:16:24.720]we went through several steps to figure out what it was
- [00:16:28.800]that the community wanted us to build,
- [00:16:31.590]and met with providers the first time
- [00:16:35.100]to find out what capacity was.
- [00:16:36.510]Met with providers the second time then to say,
- [00:16:38.827]"Okay, we're ready to move forward with plans to build
- [00:16:42.060]Do you wanna be part of it?"
- [00:16:44.310]And that really gave us then
- [00:16:45.900]the number we were working with.
- [00:16:47.520]We knew what our total capacity needed to be,
- [00:16:50.730]and so that all took time.
- [00:16:52.770]And then we spent a year really trying to get a handle
- [00:16:57.390]on that operating budget piece.
- [00:16:59.100]More than just,
- [00:17:00.187]"Can we build the building, but can we operate it?
- [00:17:03.000]Can we make it efficient?
- [00:17:04.020]Can we make it really something
- [00:17:05.760]that will serve the community
- [00:17:07.950]and not take from the community?"
- [00:17:09.330]And so that took us a good part of 2020.
- [00:17:12.930]At the same time then
- [00:17:14.340]we were working with an architect to figure out,
- [00:17:16.740]if we have this many kids,
- [00:17:18.390]what does our building need to look like?
- [00:17:20.460]What size are we talking?
- [00:17:22.260]Worked through the programming and the building.
- [00:17:25.260]We started fundraising then early 2021,
- [00:17:29.850]so we've been at that for well over two years,
- [00:17:33.000]and then kept working on the building plan.
- [00:17:34.980]We were able to get that finalized
- [00:17:36.750]and really ready to go summer of '22.
- [00:17:39.960]So it's been a process fairly in depth
- [00:17:43.110]for the last five years,
- [00:17:44.490]but we feel good about where we are
- [00:17:46.320]because we've spent a lot of time on the foundational work.
- [00:17:49.200]We've asked every question we could think of
- [00:17:52.110]so that when we get the questions,
- [00:17:54.210]we've got answers to the community,
- [00:17:56.640]and really have put in that due diligence
- [00:17:59.040]to know where we're going
- [00:18:01.230]and why it's the best way for the community to go.
- [00:18:04.110]Yes, absolutely.
- [00:18:05.340]So I hear both of you talking about this,
- [00:18:07.770]and how important was it to involve, like, the providers,
- [00:18:10.920]to involve the school, to involve all these people?
- [00:18:13.530]I mean, every person that you add into it just makes it,
- [00:18:16.650]can make it more complicated.
- [00:18:17.970]It sounds like that was important to you
- [00:18:19.770]as you were moving forward.
- [00:18:21.090]You wanna talk a little bit about that?
- [00:18:23.010]Yeah, I would say, how long did this take to put together?
- [00:18:26.040]It's taken just the right amount of time
- [00:18:28.380]because we took every step that was necessary
- [00:18:33.090]to bring people on board.
- [00:18:34.320]When we started having those conversations with providers,
- [00:18:36.840]like I said, five years ago, on are you at capacity,
- [00:18:40.140]can you get any bigger?
- [00:18:41.430]That was all of our providers.
- [00:18:43.602]This Impact Center will bring some of them into the fold,
- [00:18:47.280]the ones that wanted to,
- [00:18:48.900]but we still sat down with some of the folks
- [00:18:50.850]that we knew from the very beginning.
- [00:18:52.590]They had no desire to become a part of this,
- [00:18:55.380]and there were some that were not too pleased
- [00:18:58.200]that we were gonna be bringing about competition.
- [00:19:01.260]Oh, no. But it took,
- [00:19:02.700]it took having those conversations
- [00:19:04.650]and bringing them into the fold,
- [00:19:06.840]developing that trust between us and them,
- [00:19:10.140]so that they understood,
- [00:19:11.220]okay, we really are trying to do this
- [00:19:13.530]for the betterment of the community.
- [00:19:16.050]Nobody's getting run out of town.
- [00:19:17.850]We're still going to support each other.
- [00:19:19.530]We're all gonna work together.
- [00:19:20.820]And that,
- [00:19:21.653]when you talk about the broader scope of the project,
- [00:19:23.670]that's also why it was important
- [00:19:25.560]to bring in the community too.
- [00:19:27.000]This is a community facility,
- [00:19:29.070]and if you don't incorporate the opinions, the beliefs,
- [00:19:33.300]even though it makes things a hundred times more complex
- [00:19:37.200]of all those community members,
- [00:19:38.850]then you're not building a community facility,
- [00:19:41.970]so it certainly made it take longer.
- [00:19:44.520]It certainly expanded the scope,
- [00:19:46.260]but what we are getting is what our community wants.
- [00:19:49.380]Yes, so you're putting in that work
- [00:19:51.270]to make sure that this project, this Impact Center,
- [00:19:54.450]will be successful for the community
- [00:19:56.340]because it's had the input of everybody in the community.
- [00:19:59.280]And also bouncing on what you said, Nichole,
- [00:20:01.380]it's going to be self-sufficient, it's gonna be sustainable,
- [00:20:04.770]it's gonna be here,
- [00:20:05.703]it's gonna be able to stay for a long time.
- [00:20:08.190]Yep, we could raise, to be honest,
- [00:20:10.071]enough capital to put up however big of a facility we needed
- [00:20:14.370]and it's already, you know, pretty big,
- [00:20:16.080]but what we needed to do from the gate was make sure
- [00:20:18.960]we could keep the lights on 10 years from now
- [00:20:21.060]because nobody wants to see an empty building
- [00:20:23.700]that they spent a lot of money to put up,
- [00:20:25.410]so that was, like Nichole said, our biggest piece
- [00:20:28.680]before we really even started talking capital campaign.
- [00:20:31.590]Not only because we wanted to make sure we had a plan,
- [00:20:34.080]but also we needed to answer those questions to our donors.
- [00:20:37.140]They wanted to make sure,
- [00:20:38.347]"Okay, if I'm gonna give money to something,
- [00:20:40.440]this is gonna actually be that solution."
- [00:20:42.270]Yes, so this is a lot. This is a lot.
- [00:20:45.930]You're telling me. Yeah, I'm sure.
- [00:20:48.124]Yeah, I'm sure you don't need to hear that from me,
- [00:20:49.590]but I can tell that it has a lot of complexity
- [00:20:53.040]and you can't do this alone.
- [00:20:54.300]This is definitely community efforts,
- [00:20:56.280]but when you involve a lot of people,
- [00:20:58.110]as we've said, it's complex.
- [00:21:00.210]How do you organize, how do you structure this work?
- [00:21:02.880]How do you divide out this responsibilities
- [00:21:04.950]to make this actually happen?
- [00:21:06.750]Well, the GECLC board of directors
- [00:21:09.360]really helped give the direction.
- [00:21:11.160]Like I said, they're the ones who looked at the numbers
- [00:21:13.230]and said, "We need to build to fix this problem."
- [00:21:16.560]And so they cast the vision
- [00:21:18.480]and really help kind of point us towards the solution,
- [00:21:22.620]the direction we needed to go.
- [00:21:24.030]After that,
- [00:21:25.200]they recognized that the board was made up of volunteers,
- [00:21:29.970]professionals in the community who all have full-time jobs,
- [00:21:33.480]and so it became necessary
- [00:21:35.580]to have someone who could devote some time,
- [00:21:39.090]some attention to the process, and so that's where-
- [00:21:42.150]We found a Nichole is what we did.
- [00:21:44.194](Emily laughs)
- [00:21:45.912]So we needed somebody to help us get things done.
- [00:21:48.240]I mean, we were all volunteers,
- [00:21:49.740]and Nichole was on the board,
- [00:21:51.570]but a few of us kind of knew, okay,
- [00:21:54.270]Nichole would really be the person
- [00:21:56.220]who could help actually drive this forward.
- [00:21:58.080]And so we hired her as the full-time community coordinator
- [00:22:01.200]in, was it 2019? Mm-hmm.
- [00:22:03.030]This project,
- [00:22:04.260]we'd still be talking about this as a concept
- [00:22:06.750]if we didn't have a Nichole who could help us get things
- [00:22:10.680]through the finish line, so.
- [00:22:12.150]I interrupted you, but-
- [00:22:13.350]That's quite all right.
- [00:22:14.963]Because I was dancing around,
- [00:22:16.740]I couldn't do my job without a Colten
- [00:22:19.680]because he understands the business side of it,
- [00:22:22.980]and so he has really,
- [00:22:24.990]he's donated so much of his time
- [00:22:26.790]to the business side of the project,
- [00:22:28.350]the incorporation and organization of the entities
- [00:22:32.970]that we've had to put together
- [00:22:35.280]to make this the project it is.
- [00:22:38.040]The negotiation of the contracts,
- [00:22:40.110]working with the construction details,
- [00:22:42.450]leading the fundraising effort,
- [00:22:44.430]like, seeing the big picture
- [00:22:46.410]and knowing the pieces that need to go together,
- [00:22:49.230]the economic development piece of it,
- [00:22:51.300]that has all been huge in kind of steering the ship,
- [00:22:55.350]and really, I'm just in the back,
- [00:22:57.090]pedaling like crazy to keep the ship moving forward,
- [00:22:59.670]but having somebody who understands the complexities
- [00:23:03.270]of the business side
- [00:23:05.250]and can really pull all that together
- [00:23:07.230]has been incredibly important.
- [00:23:09.450]So having that, and then the coordinator
- [00:23:12.630]really being able to do the in-house production
- [00:23:15.150]of the campaign materials,
- [00:23:16.500]the social media, the website presence,
- [00:23:18.960]the tracking of the donations,
- [00:23:20.460]the keeping everything organized,
- [00:23:22.350]you know, really that's kind of how our division
- [00:23:24.960]of responsibilities has fallen.
- [00:23:27.000]We did have a project committee made up of community members
- [00:23:31.020]that helped with the design and the final building plan,
- [00:23:33.930]and so had input from stakeholders
- [00:23:36.960]on how the building finally came together.
- [00:23:40.050]So we've got volunteers
- [00:23:42.270]on top of the two of us in the board.
- [00:23:45.030]Yeah, there's a difficult balance, I think,
- [00:23:47.520]between gotta have the people
- [00:23:49.050]who are gonna get things done, right?
- [00:23:50.580]Yeah, mm-hmm.
- [00:23:51.630]But they can't be the ones making every decision,
- [00:23:54.600]and so I think, as a community,
- [00:23:56.670]we've done a really good job
- [00:23:58.080]of pulling those committees together.
- [00:24:00.450]Like Nichole said, you have GECLC,
- [00:24:02.640]that's the board of directors
- [00:24:04.088]of that nonprofit who kind of started this,
- [00:24:06.087]and we put a project committee together.
- [00:24:08.520]We have the steering committee.
- [00:24:09.870]Now we have a board of directors
- [00:24:11.610]for this actual operating entity, the Impact Center,
- [00:24:14.400]and they're going to finalize really the budget
- [00:24:17.130]and the policies based on current rates
- [00:24:19.950]and all those pieces.
- [00:24:21.120]So again, it's a delicate balance
- [00:24:24.270]between Nichole and I trying to move things forward
- [00:24:27.630]and annoying people to raise money
- [00:24:30.180]and to sign off on this or that,
- [00:24:32.280]but also ensuring
- [00:24:33.210]that you have those stakeholders providing that input.
- [00:24:36.570]Kind of like a balance between, like, the business side,
- [00:24:38.940]the early childhood side,
- [00:24:40.080]and then also the community to make those decisions,
- [00:24:43.350]those stakeholders can make those decisions together,
- [00:24:45.720]so really pulling on everyone's strengths,
- [00:24:47.880]and you couldn't do that without kind of all of those parts,
- [00:24:51.120]those big parts. Yeah.
- [00:24:52.210]Yeah. Yeah, I would say,
- [00:24:53.963]because we've been a part of a lot
- [00:24:55.560]of these discussions with other communities,
- [00:24:57.930]and they're really trying
- [00:24:58.830]to find the solution to childcare, right?
- [00:25:01.140]Yeah.
- [00:25:02.126]One thing that I think we realized pretty early on was,
- [00:25:05.880]even though they bring a lot to the table,
- [00:25:08.310]sometimes those early childhood providers
- [00:25:10.800]are not their best advocates
- [00:25:12.630]when it comes to moving this piece forward.
- [00:25:15.450]They live in a different world
- [00:25:16.800]than our business community- Yes, they do.
- [00:25:18.240]our elected officials.
- [00:25:19.440]And so that's where I saw myself having some value
- [00:25:23.310]to pushing this forward was,
- [00:25:25.020]I don't live in the early childhood world. I don't want to.
- [00:25:27.240]I love my four kids,
- [00:25:28.500]but my wife does a fantastic job
- [00:25:31.710]of taking care of them during the day,
- [00:25:33.480]so I can be, I can be at work.
- [00:25:36.270]And it's kind of the same thing.
- [00:25:37.830]We have this business community
- [00:25:39.360]that understands there's a need,
- [00:25:40.890]but they speak a different language
- [00:25:42.810]than our early childhood providers.
- [00:25:44.340]So we found a way, I think, through me,
- [00:25:46.800]at least with the business piece,
- [00:25:48.000]to communicate to those individuals
- [00:25:49.800]that brought them on as partners ultimately.
- [00:25:52.260]I'm really interested in that because I'm seeing that,
- [00:25:55.020]but how do you make those two worlds talk to each other?
- [00:25:57.360]How do you find that common language?
- [00:25:58.740]What have you found that works to bridge the gap?
- [00:26:02.220]We broke it down, I would say, into two approaches.
- [00:26:05.640]One was the science, and that is the importance of,
- [00:26:12.180]okay, this is how our kids are going to benefit
- [00:26:15.390]if they receive high quality early childhood care
- [00:26:18.390]and education.
- [00:26:19.223]That still resonates with our businesses, right?
- [00:26:21.030]We all wanna see our kids grow up to be successful.
- [00:26:23.250]But as a business person, you look to data, right?
- [00:26:26.610]You want to see those statistics,
- [00:26:28.170]and there's plenty of that information out there.
- [00:26:30.390]It just needs to be presented in a way
- [00:26:32.970]that those folks will receive it.
- [00:26:35.310]The second piece is the economic side, so it's not just,
- [00:26:38.550]okay, financially, how would we make this thing work?
- [00:26:41.520]But how is this impacting you as a business?
- [00:26:44.730]We did a survey as a community and asked the respondents,
- [00:26:48.540]we asked the employees, and the employers,
- [00:26:51.247]"How has a lack of childcare impacted your ability
- [00:26:54.270]to attend work, to work in a quality manner?
- [00:26:57.060]How has your employees lack of access to childcare
- [00:27:00.810]negatively impacted your business?"
- [00:27:02.970]We were then able to turn around and show them that,
- [00:27:05.167]"Hey, this is the most significant, even above housing,
- [00:27:08.730]this is the most significant drawback
- [00:27:10.890]to your business right now." Wow.
- [00:27:12.390]Yes, we all need to have houses too, right?
- [00:27:15.300]We can't recruit people to our communities
- [00:27:17.340]if they don't have a place to live,
- [00:27:18.550]and we don't have a place for them to take their kids,
- [00:27:20.700]but I do think that traditionally
- [00:27:22.860]childcare has not been viewed
- [00:27:24.810]as something that's been important,
- [00:27:26.610]but taking those responses
- [00:27:28.170]from those business owners themselves and their employees
- [00:27:31.230]and giving it back to them,
- [00:27:32.700]I think, helped open a lot of eyes to the need.
- [00:27:35.040]Yeah, because it was in their own work.
- [00:27:37.077]And it's built from there.
- [00:27:38.310]I mean, we've seen businesses
- [00:27:39.750]start to provide childcare stipends to their employees
- [00:27:42.660]to help make those payments
- [00:27:43.920]because they want those employees
- [00:27:45.750]to be in the office, right?
- [00:27:47.520]It's helped get our business community
- [00:27:49.140]involved with our capital campaign.
- [00:27:51.120]They know that this will help
- [00:27:52.530]provide them more stability as a business,
- [00:27:54.570]and so that initial approach,
- [00:27:56.850]again using data, using the science, helped open the door.
- [00:28:00.630]And these are smart people.
- [00:28:01.740]These are small business centers, right?
- [00:28:03.739]Mm-hmm, yep.
- [00:28:04.572]They are very successful individuals in their own right.
- [00:28:07.230]They just needed,
- [00:28:08.063]we needed to find a way to break that ice initially,
- [00:28:10.350]and that's how we did it.
- [00:28:11.340]Go ahead, Nichole, you looked like you wanted to add on.
- [00:28:13.140]And I think part of it too is giving these people a voice.
- [00:28:17.550]My husband is a manager at a business here in town,
- [00:28:20.550]and he's lost several high quality employees
- [00:28:23.760]because they haven't been able to find childcare,
- [00:28:26.190]and so I think when you have those conversations
- [00:28:28.320]with the businesses and say,
- [00:28:30.097]"We know this is a problem for you,
- [00:28:32.040]and we want to help solve it for you,"
- [00:28:35.490]then it creates that partnership because they're saying,
- [00:28:38.227]"I know it's a problem.
- [00:28:39.270]It's negatively affecting my business,
- [00:28:41.610]but I don't know how to fix it.
- [00:28:43.050]If you are saying you can help me,
- [00:28:45.840]then I want to support you."
- [00:28:47.910]And it creates that circle,
- [00:28:49.770]and it's given us a lot of support in the business community
- [00:28:52.980]without them having to understand the ins and the outs,
- [00:28:56.190]the jargon, the vocabulary.
- [00:28:58.230]They just know there's somebody
- [00:28:59.550]who's working on their behalf to fix this problem.
- [00:29:02.070]And someone that they can trust to do it right.
- [00:29:03.990]Right. Yes.
- [00:29:04.823](bright upbeat music)
- [00:29:07.110]We are gonna stop right here, listeners, for this episode,
- [00:29:10.980]but we will continue to explore the Gothenburg Impact Center
- [00:29:14.580]with Colten and Nichole in our next episode.
- [00:29:17.010]Some things we're gonna cover include
- [00:29:18.780]how the project is being funded,
- [00:29:20.520]the economic model of early childhood,
- [00:29:22.950]and advice for other communities
- [00:29:24.510]who are also experiencing a childcare gap.
- [00:29:27.030]So stay tuned, look out for our next episode to drop
- [00:29:30.420]if you are interested in this topic
- [00:29:32.100]and hearing more from Colten and Nichole.
- [00:29:35.460]This has been an episode of "The Good Life in Early Life,"
- [00:29:39.000]a Nebraska Extension Early Childhood production
- [00:29:41.640]with your host Emily Manning.
- [00:29:43.050]For more information on early childhood,
- [00:29:44.790]check out our website at child.unl.edu.
- [00:29:47.760]If you like the show,
- [00:29:48.720]subscribe and tell your friends to listen.
- [00:29:50.670]The podcast show production team is Emily Manning,
- [00:29:53.460]Dr. Holly Hatton, Ingrid Lindall, Erin Kampbell,
- [00:29:57.060]Linda Reddish, Kim Wellsandt, and Katie Krause.
- [00:29:59.940]See you next time, and thanks for listening
- [00:30:02.377](bright music)
The screen size you are trying to search captions on is too small!
You can always jump over to MediaHub and check it out there.
Log in to post comments
Embed
Copy the following code into your page
HTML
<div style="height: 5.62em; max-width: 56.12rem; overflow: hidden; position:relative; -webkit-box-flex: 1; flex-grow: 1;">
<iframe
style="bottom: 0; left: 0; position: absolute; right: 0; top: 0; border: 0; height: 100%; width: 100%;"
src="https://mediahub.unl.edu/media/21283?format=iframe&autoplay=0"
title="Audio Player: S1E4: Part 1: The Gothenburg Impact Center w. Nicole Hetz & Colten Venteicher "
allowfullscreen
></iframe>
</div>
Comments
0 Comments