S2E10: Building Lasting Impact-The Gothenburg Impact Center
Nebraska Extension Early Childhood Program Area-Emily Manning, Dr. Holly Hatton, Ingrid Lindal, Erin Kampbell, Linda Reddish, Katie Krause, and LaDonna Werth
Author
02/25/2025
Added
0
Plays
Description
In this episode, Emily returns to Gothenburg to sit down with Nichole Hetz for an update on the Gothenburg Impact Center and its journey to opening an early childhood learning center. From navigating challenges to securing resources, Nichole shares the key steps that made this project a reality. We also explore the ongoing work to ensure sustainability, the lessons learned along the way, and what other communities can take from their experience. Whether you're passionate about early childhood education or community-driven initiatives, this episode offers valuable insights into making a lasting impact.
Resources: 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
Searchable Transcript
Toggle between list and paragraph view.
- [00:00:00.000]This is the Good Life in Early Life a production of Nebraska Extension. I'm your host Emily Manning
- [00:00:15.440]an Early Childhood Extension Educator in Seward county. Today, I have with me a guest that has been
- [00:00:20.600]on the podcast before and she is here to give us an update on her project that she works for.
- [00:00:25.560]She serves as the Gothenburg Early Childhood Learning Coalition Community Coordinator
- [00:00:30.020]a position she's held since 2019. Welcome back to the show Nichole Hetz! Hello, it's good to be here!
- [00:00:37.280]Yeah, we're so excited to have you back on the podcast to share and give us an update on the
- [00:00:42.620]Impact Center. I've heard there's a lot that's been happening and going on, so I think there's
- [00:00:48.360]a lot that we're going to talk about, but let's start off with a fun question to get us
- [00:00:52.520]started off. It's been really really cold
- [00:00:55.440]and snowy lately here in Nebraska especially where I'm living and working so in regard to
- [00:01:01.800]cold weather, let's hear about your childhood and what you like to do when you got a snow day.
- [00:01:09.060]It's funny you should ask because I actually grew up in Minnesota so every day in the winter
- [00:01:15.380]was a snow day whether we went to school or not and probably my favorite thing so I lived next
- [00:01:21.020]door to my elementary school and when it would snow they would push all the snow out of the
- [00:01:25.320]all the snow from the parking lot into a big pile on the edge of the playground but students
- [00:01:31.100]weren't allowed to play on the pile after school when we went home and then we were just neighborhood
- [00:01:36.900]kids we could play on the hill and so every day after school we would put our snow stuff on and
- [00:01:43.140]we would go and that was kind of our domain because nobody else could get on it so we would
- [00:01:48.920]build tunnels and caves and slides and that kind of became our place
- [00:01:55.200]and we would play on that hill all winter long until it melted in the spring so that is
- [00:02:01.140]absolutely my favorite winter memory from growing up oh my gosh you just reminded me of my childhood
- [00:02:06.600]too and i completely had forgotten that we did that in elementary school too like there was a
- [00:02:11.260]couple of basketball courts near a parking lot and that would always get cleared off and it was like
- [00:02:16.500]a huge mound of snow but yeah we had these elaborate tunnels through this hill and there was like so
- [00:02:25.080]and creative play that was going on on these hills and tunnels like imaginary battles and
- [00:02:31.400]castles and dragons like so much fun oh such a good memory that you brought up this morning and
- [00:02:37.840]what a way to think positively about the cold and snow when all those adults right now are like oh
- [00:02:43.160]i can't wait for it to be spring exactly yeah so thank you for that this morning i appreciate it
- [00:02:50.200]but let's dive into your work at the impact center so you had something really
- [00:02:54.960]exciting happening last fall so lots of things happening i saw on your your facebook page for
- [00:03:01.040]the impact center that you had your official ribbon cutting in september of this last year
- [00:03:06.920]so that's so exciting that this dream that the community of gothenburg built together has finally
- [00:03:12.860]come to fruition so huge congratulations to you being a part of that work and to colton who we
- [00:03:19.440]interviewed before and all the community members and volunteers that has made this project possible
- [00:03:24.840]so what part of this project has brought you the most satisfaction or joy upon seeing its completion
- [00:03:30.600]yeah it it has been a long time coming and really just being able to open the doors and
- [00:03:38.440]walk in the halls and see kind of this dream come to life has been amazing but i do think
- [00:03:45.340]from that first day having kids in the building having kids in the classrooms you know seeing them
- [00:03:52.100]hang their coats in the cubbies and use the things
- [00:03:54.720]that we spent so much time thinking about and deciding on and seeing them use it and really now
- [00:04:03.220]kind of this eight months in seeing them feel like it's their school this is my cubby this is
- [00:04:10.860]my classroom these are my friends and seeing them use the space has just it's been amazing it truly
- [00:04:18.600]has been joyful and then along with that i think probably for me what gives me the most satisfaction
- [00:04:24.600]is being able to say yes to parents for a long time as the community early childhood coordinator
- [00:04:32.120]i would get calls from parents who were either expecting or moving into town saying i'm looking
- [00:04:38.120]for child care and i had no answer and now we can say yes to every family who calls we can say yes
- [00:04:47.480]we've got 10 infants that we're just waiting to be born that are coming because we've got room
- [00:04:54.480]for them and preschool toddlers we can take anybody right now and and being able to say yes
- [00:05:02.440]to parents has been the best part of this whole thing that is so exciting oh that's especially
- [00:05:09.140]about the infants because you often hear from parents that that's like the most difficult spot
- [00:05:13.340]to find and like as soon as they're getting pregnant they're like frantically searching
- [00:05:17.940]trying to find a spot but you're like you're like yes give me all the babies give me all the infants
- [00:05:24.360]the room come here come here come here and that's so fantastic to hear that is so amazing and I just
- [00:05:30.140]also when you were talking and hearing this dream and this reality really come to fruition it sounds
- [00:05:36.840]like it really set in once those kids were there and really making the space their own and so I was
- [00:05:42.600]just picturing that in my head and there's just such a heartwarming thing so that is so fantastic
- [00:05:49.100]to hear and you know I want to hear a little bit more about this project and I haven't talked to
- [00:05:54.240]you since our interview in May of 2023 right I think it was 2020 yeah so it's a long time it's
- [00:06:02.220]2025 now I know I can't believe it's been that long I know time flies and when I had visited
- [00:06:09.320]you had just broken ground and while you had construction you had walls up in the ceiling
- [00:06:15.360]so tell me what has happened in the meantime like now you're open give me the updates were
- [00:06:20.020]there any challenges that came up during the construction phase it
- [00:06:24.120]was it was a long build but it was a quick build everything I mean yes there were challenges
- [00:06:31.280]there were glitches there were things that no one could control that we had to figure
- [00:06:37.060]out a way around but I will say our construction team was amazing they were great about keeping
- [00:06:43.420]us updated so we knew what those challenges were we were part of the troubleshooting but
- [00:06:48.900]they they were amazing they really made this whole thing come together in a way that
- [00:06:54.000]you know obviously we couldn't have done without them but they worked hard they found
- [00:06:58.080]the solutions to the challenges they kept us on track and actually so we started to
- [00:07:02.960]realize kind of early in 2024 that we were in a really good place construction wise and
- [00:07:10.360]we actually had a grant that was requiring us to be licensed by the end of June and so
- [00:07:17.500]we were scheduled to be done with construction in August but they were started to realize
- [00:07:23.880]hey we could make this happen and so we really stepped up kind of May and June and they were
- [00:07:32.660]amazing they worked so hard to help us be ready to be licensed by the end of June and
- [00:07:40.060]so last spring we sort of broke it into two phases we hadn't been we had been doing construction
- [00:07:45.940]on the whole building as one but we broke it into two phases and really focused on finishing
- [00:07:51.660]that early learning center portion.
- [00:07:53.760]And so they were able to get us up and licensed and kids in the building by the end of June
- [00:08:00.800]to meet that grant requirement and then finish up the rest of the building moving into the
- [00:08:06.240]fall.
- [00:08:06.420]So it was a long process I had never built anything before I didn't know the process
- [00:08:12.760]but it all came together.
- [00:08:14.860]I don't think there's anything I would have done differently the team made all the difference
- [00:08:19.400]and so here we are.
- [00:08:20.660]That makes total sense that you would really focus.
- [00:08:23.640]Like break it down into two parts so that you could capitalize on that grant and so
- [00:08:27.620]when you said that you had to have everything ready to be licensed does that just mean you
- [00:08:31.640]had to have the space like finished and finalized like you didn't have to have all the staff
- [00:08:36.620]in place or did you?
- [00:08:38.200]So you know licensing doesn't really ask about staff but we had our staff in place we had
- [00:08:45.420]our handbooks made we had like we were ready to go actually you know beginning of June
- [00:08:51.120]we had sanitation come and.
- [00:08:53.520]I think I look back at pictures of where we were at the beginning of June to where we
- [00:08:58.240]were when we opened our doors and the amount of work it took but we did it and like I literally
- [00:09:05.900]shed blood sweat and tears for this project to get it done on time and I wasn't the only
- [00:09:12.100]one but we had staff in the building the week before we opened we had teachers getting their
- [00:09:17.020]classrooms ready while like the walls were still being painted while the teachers were
- [00:09:21.780]setting up their classrooms it was.
- [00:09:23.400]It was kind of wild but we did it and and everybody understood what we were working
- [00:09:28.220]towards and the construction team understood and so a lot of communication a lot of coordination
- [00:09:33.860]but yeah it all came together.
- [00:09:36.320]Yeah yeah it sounds like a really big push at the end and what was that process like
- [00:09:40.900]to staff the center because I know that it can be hard it can be a challenge to recruit
- [00:09:48.060]and staff early childhood centers.
- [00:09:50.520]Yes yes it definitely
- [00:09:53.280]is.
- [00:09:53.840]We were fortunate enough that we had two existing centers in town who had agreed to close their
- [00:10:00.780]doors and combine into our center.
- [00:10:03.520]So we started with 19 staff from those two centers that agreed to come and work for us.
- [00:10:09.960]That was a process that didn't just happen we had several conversations with leadership
- [00:10:15.920]at those two centers but then we also started in winter of 2024 meeting with the staff.
- [00:10:23.160]Going over like hey this is all new and it's going to be doing things differently than
- [00:10:28.500]you do them at your center and the two centers I mean obviously every child care center does
- [00:10:33.580]things differently the way that works for them and so you know having those conversations
- [00:10:38.300]like we know you do things one way where you're at these are the expectations we've got we
- [00:10:44.560]really want you to be a part of it but we want you to know what you're agreeing to
- [00:10:48.140]and so we started having those conversations really kind of building our staff while we
- [00:10:53.040]were still building the building and letting them know where we were at and what we were
- [00:10:59.720]doing we talked about pay we had some very generous center directors and they also you
- [00:11:08.040]know they had COVID money and so a lot of these staff were paying for child care and
- [00:11:12.720]so just the changes and hey things are going to be different here so some tough conversations
- [00:11:18.520]but honest conversations and we also talked about pay
- [00:11:22.920]and so when everybody got here in June we were able to offer all 19 of those staff that came
- [00:11:33.960]from the other centers higher take-home pay than they had were had been making before and so of
- [00:11:40.120]those 19 one received this the same amount and 18 received higher take-home pay with an average
- [00:11:47.680]of $2,700 a year more than what they were making at their current centers so
- [00:11:52.800]that helped when we could show them the numbers when we could sit down and say
- [00:11:57.340]you know this is what you're making now this is what you'll be making with us I think that helped
- [00:12:02.580]a lot of those staff make the transition over and then when we started advertising you know
- [00:12:08.060]social media and indeed all of kind of those usual in the newspaper those usual things but
- [00:12:13.860]our starting pay is $15 an hour for any teacher over 18 the high school aides is
- [00:12:22.680]a little bit less but starting pay is $15 an hour and then you get added pay for years of experience
- [00:12:32.080]for training hours and for any certificates or degrees that you have so you know that we talked
- [00:12:39.400]about that in the first podcast that was a non-negotiable we were going to try to pay our staff
- [00:12:43.920]more than they were making and as much as we could and so that was that was one of the foundations of our operating budget and so I
- [00:12:52.560]think that helped us retain staff from those two centers but then also hire new staff
- [00:12:57.800]and so we are fully I mean I say we're fully staffed I don't know if the center director
- [00:13:02.680]would say we're fully staffed but we have 35 full-time staff and 11 part-time staff
- [00:13:07.240]so it's a constant it takes constant attention but it has not been a huge problem we've been
- [00:13:17.120]able to have the staff we need to watch the kids that parents are bringing.
- [00:13:22.440]Just a quick question how many spots do you have capacity-wise? So capacity-wise and I
- [00:13:28.740]I'm hesitant to say I don't even know what our license what we're licensed for we currently
- [00:13:34.640]we're at 182 kids counting part-time so 127 full-time 15 part-time and 40 before and after
- [00:13:45.000]school we I'm sure we're licensed for more than 200 but I don't want to say and then have licensing
- [00:13:52.320]I don't have that over on my phone yeah no I just wanted I just wanted listeners to kind of get an
- [00:13:56.980]idea of like how large the center was and your talk about pay and the operating budget leads
- [00:14:04.180]right into the next question that I had planned for you from our previous conversation I know
- [00:14:08.460]that you and your team had specific plans for financial sustainability and would you be able
- [00:14:13.900]to tell the listeners about those plans and how they may have shifted or maybe changed or maybe
- [00:14:19.580]why they're still really important for the center
- [00:14:22.200]because we know that in early childhood it can be really hard to sustain a program just because
- [00:14:28.120]it's not necessarily a profit industry like early childhood is not really a profit making
- [00:14:33.200]industry you don't go into it wanting to make a ton of money no no you don't and honestly
- [00:14:39.300]anybody who's in early childhood will tell you that the model of funding child
- [00:14:44.640]care is broken. You cannot charge families what it costs you to care for their children.
- [00:14:52.630]Like working parents just cannot afford that. It's the cost is already high. And so and then to pay
- [00:14:59.090]to pay your staff above minimum wage, it adds stress to that operating budget. And so we knew
- [00:15:06.330]before we even started building, we we built our operating budget and we knew that we could not
- [00:15:13.910]take in just through parents and state subsidy what it would cost us to run a quality program.
- [00:15:20.470]I'm happy to say that to this point, our plan is working. Our primary sources of revenue are
- [00:15:27.170]parent pay, state subsidy and food program. We do all of the usual operations of an early
- [00:15:34.730]child care center. But then we also have revenue coming in from other sources. So one of those
- [00:15:40.530]sources is our connected event center.
- [00:15:43.190]Any rental fees associated with that event center go right back into our operations budget.
- [00:15:50.810]We operate the impact center under one operating budget. So we're able to take whatever revenue
- [00:15:57.550]comes from the rental of the event center and it goes to subsidize the early learning
- [00:16:02.430]center operations. We also have an indoor sports training center that's being used this
- [00:16:08.870]winter, rented by local baseball teams. And so any of that rental income is going to go
- [00:16:12.470]right back into that operations budget. So we've got those additional streams that most
- [00:16:19.790]child care centers don't have, which is helping. But probably then our other biggest source
- [00:16:27.150]of revenue is our ongoing commitments from our interlocal partners. So the city and the
- [00:16:33.230]school have each committed $100,000 a year towards our operating budget. That is a payment
- [00:16:40.250]that comes.
- [00:16:41.750]We get it in November. We put it in a savings account. And then every month, I just pull
- [00:16:47.710]a twelfth of that into our operating budget and use it to help cover those areas that
- [00:16:55.970]the other revenue doesn't.
- [00:16:57.590]So that's our funding model. We've got revenue coming from several sources, and it's all
- [00:17:03.950]going to support the operations, which is primarily Early Learning Center. The costs for
- [00:17:11.030]the event center and the sports training center are minimal. And so that's where we kind of were
- [00:17:18.410]able to shift those funds and support the Early Learning Center operations.
- [00:17:21.910]Yeah, that makes sense. I remember you guys, you and Colton had talked about it being like
- [00:17:26.470]braided funding. And I really like that visualization of the braided funding. And
- [00:17:31.570]then also, I think from our previous conversation, I remember having all these things together in
- [00:17:36.570]one center actually reduces costs because you can have some of the costs that you're
- [00:17:41.010]maintenance fees and some of those things, they're all in one place. And so you're kind of
- [00:17:45.750]making it just more efficient and cutting costs because you're just having this all in one space.
- [00:17:50.950]Yep, exactly. And so even my position has shifted. So I've moved from being the community early
- [00:17:59.570]childhood coordinator to the facilities director. So now my full-time job is really just managing
- [00:18:07.210]the operations of the impact center. And so I'm here
- [00:18:10.990]I'm doing those things and then I'm able to oversee the rentals of the event center and
- [00:18:17.710]the sports training center without having to pay somebody else. It's all taking place,
- [00:18:22.950]like you said, under one roof with one person instead of having to have a number of individuals
- [00:18:27.910]that are being paid separately. And so, yeah, the efficiencies that we were able to create
- [00:18:34.710]through the one roof model, through staff, through utilities,
- [00:18:40.970]through, like you said, the maintenance, all of that has gone to make us efficient
- [00:18:45.930]and be able to operate well. Wonderful. It just sounds like
- [00:18:51.290]there was a lot of thought and care put into thinking about how to make this sustainable.
- [00:18:56.310]Like, yes, we're going to build this amazing center, but then how are we going to make sure
- [00:19:01.750]that this will stand the test of time and stand up to some of these challenges that we know
- [00:19:06.550]are in this industry and make sure that we provide child care access for our parents
- [00:19:10.950]center community for several years to come. So it's just amazing that that was really planned for
- [00:19:16.190]and thought out and carefully crafted as you were planning this impact center. So it's really,
- [00:19:21.670]really amazing and such a great example for others who might be going into this work in this space,
- [00:19:26.550]which leads me into my next question. When thinking about your work here at the impact
- [00:19:32.030]center in Gothenburg, I kind of thought of a rainbow and maybe it's not the best analogy,
- [00:19:36.210]but on one side of the rainbow, one side of the arc, you're starting out, you're dreaming,
- [00:19:41.130]you're making all the plans. And then as you're going up the rainbow, you're making that work
- [00:19:46.630]happen. The construction's happening. Now you're at kind of the end of the arc of the rainbow where
- [00:19:52.130]it's been built, it's open and you're operating. You've gone through that rainbow process.
- [00:19:57.370]What advice do you have for others who might be exploring this work?
- [00:20:00.870]Sure. I think, you know, every, every journey is going to be different. Every community is
- [00:20:05.870]going to approach this differently, but I think there are a lot of communities and a lot of
- [00:20:10.190]really dedicated people out there who are trying to solve this for their community.
- [00:20:15.130]And I would say, good for you. Keep going. I took this on really for the challenge of it.
- [00:20:24.990]Like, let's see if we can do this. I didn't know much about early childhood when I started.
- [00:20:30.230]So my learning, I think my learning curve was a little steep, but we got into it and,
- [00:20:35.770]and I think for me, the way I got to the other side was understanding just how important it was
- [00:20:43.050]for us to be successful because there were days, I mean, there were days and I felt most of it.
- [00:20:52.230]I felt like we were truly building the airplane while we were flying it. Like there was no
- [00:21:00.730]blueprint. There was no game plan for what we were doing. We just jumped in. And I think,
- [00:21:05.670]like you said, we put a lot of due diligence. We spent several years making sure we had our
- [00:21:11.270]operating budget solid, making sure that we had value engineered this building to make it the
- [00:21:17.190]most efficient we could before we started building it. We put a lot of time and effort
- [00:21:22.090]into being sure that our foundation was solid. But at some point, you just have to do it. And
- [00:21:28.390]if you wait until you know everything you need to know, you won't ever do it. And,
- [00:21:35.570]and like, like I said, our foundation was strong, but I had never built anything before. I didn't
- [00:21:42.450]know the process. I didn't know the players. I didn't know for me having all the pieces in place
- [00:21:50.530]and being, you know, like you just jump in and you just do it and you have to have a good team
- [00:21:55.230]around you because there were days when I thought we never should have done this. Like I can't,
- [00:21:59.950]we're, we're in it. I can't, I can't unbuild it, but I don't know how we're going to. And then
- [00:22:05.470]somebody on the team would be like, no, no, no, this is why we're doing it. This is important.
- [00:22:09.370]This is, we're going to be fine. And then there were other days that other people were like,
- [00:22:13.110]I don't even know. And it was my job to say, no, no, we'll be fine. Like, so have people around
- [00:22:18.590]you who are also committed and you know, it's okay to take a step back and go, okay, this is
- [00:22:25.110]really hard today, but it's, it's worth it. And so I'm going to come back at it tomorrow
- [00:22:30.130]and we're going to get over that challenge and move on to the next thing. And so,
- [00:22:35.370]I think what I didn't realize the fundraising and the construction, those were the easy parts.
- [00:22:43.570]Oh, really? I would like, I would rather, this sounds terrible. I would, if there's a community
- [00:22:51.310]out there that wants help fundraising and building like, yes, sign you up. Like when we actually got
- [00:22:58.810]to that, that June that I talked about earlier of realizing we could get this done by the end of the
- [00:23:05.270]month, but then the push it took to actually do that, that was, those were some excruciating days.
- [00:23:12.730]It was hard. And I didn't know what I was doing. I just knew it needed to be done.
- [00:23:18.930]And that's where the blood, the sweat, and the tears came in. It felt like the house was on
- [00:23:23.750]fire for a really long time, but every day things were getting done. And at the end,
- [00:23:28.510]when I look back at it and I look at what we accomplished, you know, it was, it was good.
- [00:23:35.170]And I have used this analogy before. This whole project was truly like having a baby. You get the
- [00:23:45.670]idea and you're like, this is exciting. This could be good. You know, it's like that first trimester
- [00:23:50.570]where you're like, oh my goodness, we're going to have a baby. This is so exciting. And, and then
- [00:23:55.510]you get into the middle and you're like, you know, we're doing construction and we're good.
- [00:24:00.670]We got this. We're on schedule. We got, you know, we got people who are helping us and it's
- [00:24:05.070]all coming together. And then you get to that last trimester and you go, oh, I'm not, I'm not
- [00:24:11.530]ready for this baby. I don't like, can I, can I undo this? Cause this is not like, I'm scared.
- [00:24:17.350]I'm scared for what's coming next. Like I'm excited, but I'm scared. And that was like,
- [00:24:22.030]you know, the, the last couple of months before we finished construction, I was scared. I wasn't
- [00:24:27.890]sure what the next step was or how this was all going to come together. And then like we opened
- [00:24:32.910]and it's exciting. And you
- [00:24:34.970]know, the doctor puts the baby in your arms and like, you did it. Here you go. But then they send
- [00:24:39.650]you home. They send you home in two days with a new baby and you don't know what you're doing.
- [00:24:45.170]And we opened our doors and they're like, here you go. And I didn't know what I was doing.
- [00:24:52.330]And I remember, you know, maternity leave, the first month is kind of a blur. Like
- [00:24:58.550]you aren't sleeping well and you're learning all the new things.
- [00:25:04.870]And people need, you know, this new person needs something from you and I'm here and
- [00:25:10.330]I'm not sleeping well and everybody needs something and I'm supposed to have the answers,
- [00:25:15.010]but I don't know. Like the first couple months were a blur and, but it's good.
- [00:25:22.270]What you get at the end is so worth it. And it's okay. If there are emails that don't
- [00:25:28.970]get answered or, you know, like it's okay to, to put out the fires, to do the
- [00:25:34.770]things, to show up and put the effort into making sure that the, the project
- [00:25:39.790]survives, that, that you're doing the things and it will get better. Like it
- [00:25:44.930]just like parenting, like you, you finally, you get your groove, you figure
- [00:25:48.930]it out, you got your, your schedule and you understand what this means or that
- [00:25:54.590]means. Like it will get better. And I don't want to scare anybody off from doing it
- [00:25:59.630]because it is so worth it. It is so worth it. But yeah, you kind of like when you get
- [00:26:04.670]up to the top of the rainbow, there's some storm clouds that you're flying through,
- [00:26:08.730]but you get through it and it's all worth it to see those families walk in in the morning
- [00:26:15.750]and be grateful that you're there. Well, I like your analogy way better. And it
- [00:26:20.010]relates to early childhood so perfectly. So I'm like, yes, that's way better. And I also
- [00:26:25.090]think about like that final push that you had with construction, like that was your labor,
- [00:26:29.370]like you were in labor, like doing the hard work, the hard physical work to get that
- [00:26:34.570]baby out. Yes. Yes. So amazing. And then now you have this baby, you have the impact center that
- [00:26:42.650]is alive and then you're keeping it alive. You're surviving day to day. And so I am just wondering
- [00:26:50.550]if you would be a person that others could contact if they had questions or if they were looking for
- [00:26:57.150]ideas and how they could start their own kind of community run or community funded child care
- [00:27:04.470]center. Yeah, I would absolutely be open to answering questions or talking to anybody.
- [00:27:10.890]You know, like I said, you do this, you know, you have a baby, they send you home. Well,
- [00:27:15.770]you need to have people around you who can support you, who, you know, have had babies before or
- [00:27:22.610]know what you're going through and can tell you that it's normal. It's okay. You'll get
- [00:27:28.410]through this. And I would absolutely be happy to visit with any community at any stage,
- [00:27:34.370]about our journey and to offer whatever encouragement I can. It's hard work. It's
- [00:27:41.430]unusual work. Like it's very specific to kind of that industry, if you will, but just some
- [00:27:49.150]encouragement, but I would be happy to answer questions too. You can't do it alone. You need
- [00:27:54.030]a team. And if you need some outside perspective or some encouragement, be happy to do it.
- [00:27:58.890]Wonderful. Yeah. Like you said, we just all need to rally together. We have this as Nebraska
- [00:28:04.270]there's all these amazing people like you doing this work and we need to reach out and just
- [00:28:08.790]surround each other with that love and support so that we can help tackle the issue of childcare
- [00:28:13.330]access in Nebraska and we can get this done. And to help listeners out, we'll be sure to put
- [00:28:18.570]the contact info for Nicole into our show notes so that you can easily find that. Or we'll put
- [00:28:24.230]that website link to the Impact Center so that you can find that contact info there. But I just
- [00:28:29.250]wanted to say thank you so much, Nicole, for being on the podcast today. Thanks for sharing.
- [00:28:34.170]Updates on the Impact Center. I am so happy for you and your community that you got this done.
- [00:28:39.410]You're rocking it. You're surviving. You're keeping the baby alive. That's amazing. And
- [00:28:43.910]just appreciate you sharing what you've learned and those insights in the work that you've done
- [00:28:48.670]with our audience. Thank you so much. Thanks for letting me share our story.
- [00:28:52.710]Absolutely. Anytime. This has been another episode of The Good Life in Early Life,
- [00:29:00.910]a Nebraska Extension early childhood production with your host
- [00:29:04.070]Emily Manning. For more information on early childhood, check out our website at child.unl.edu.
- [00:29:09.930]If you like the show, subscribe and tell your friends to listen. The show production team is
- [00:29:14.710]Emily Manning, Dr. Holly Hatton, Erin Campbell, Ingrid Lindahl, Linda Reddish, Kim Welsand,
- [00:29:20.730]LaDonna Wirth, and Katie Krause. See you next time and thanks for listening. Bye-bye.
- [00:29:25.610]- Bye.
- [00:29:26.450]you
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/24230?format=iframe&autoplay=0"
title="Audio Player: S2E10: Building Lasting Impact-The Gothenburg Impact Center"
allowfullscreen
></iframe>
</div>
Comments
0 Comments