Increased access to quality licensed child care on Selkirk College’s Silver King Campus in Nelson will assist families in accomplishing a proper balance that helps build stronger communities. Opened to families in September, the new Silver King Childcare Centre provides 24 new spaces for both Selkirk College students and the general community.
Made possible through $1.2 million in funding from the provincial government’s Childcare BC New Spaces Fund and $300,000 from Columbia Basin Trust, the centre is being operated by Kootenay Kids Society. The Silver King Childcare Centre opens 24 licensed spaces to the community that includes 16 children from birth to 36 months and eight children between the ages of three to five. Eight spaces have been set aside for Selkirk College students with the remainder available to the general community through the non-profit Kootenay Kids Society.
“We’re so pleased to have been part of this project from the beginning and it’s exciting to now see it benefiting families and students in Nelson and the surrounding area,” says Columbia Basin Trust president and CEO Johnny Strilaeff. “Children will receive quality care that benefits their development, parents will be able to commit time to other aspects of their lives and post-secondary students can concentrate on their studies. Congratulations to all the partners who made this possible.”
Since launching its Child Care Support Program in 2017, the Trust has created 820 new child care spaces and upgraded nearly 2,600 spaces around the Columbia Basin region.
