After nearly 10 years of Bugaboo University offering child care at the Penticton Community Centre, the last day of this popular centre is Friday, Dec. 15, to make way for a larger 80-space facility.
鈥淏ugaboo University has been a great partner in early learning programming for three to five-year-olds, where children come to learn and explore through play and meaningful interactions,鈥� said Kelsey Johnson, the city鈥檚 manager of recreation. 鈥淲e were grateful to be able to offer this service for nearly a decade.鈥�
A tribute to celebrate Bugaboo Through the Years will be set up in the lobby of the Community Centre for the week of Dec. 11 to 15.
As one door closes, another door opens. The city is entering into a partnership with the YMCA of the Southern Interior for the expansion of space at the Community Centre that will add 80 net new childcare spaces in Penticton 鈥� 12 spaces for children under three-years-old, 44 spaces for children three-years-old to kindergarten age and 24 spaces for school-aged children. The Power Street Child Care project is being supported with a $2.2 million grant from the province.
鈥淲e鈥檙e excited about the opportunity ahead to meet a growing demand in Penticton for affordable child care,鈥� said Johnson.
The City鈥檚 Child Care Action Plan aims for a total of 722 spaces by 2030 and the city is on track to have met 60 per cent of the targeted spaces by 2024, which includes the introduction of after-school care by School District 67.
The 116-space Edmonton Avenue Child Care Centre opened in September.
At the opening of the new centre at Kiwanis Park near the Safety Village, Mayor Julius Bloomfield announced a new partnership with the city and the YMCA of the Southern Interior to provide another 80 spaces of child care out of the Penticton Community Centre.
The Power Street YMCA Child Care is now in the design stage. For those interested in obtaining registration information, all families interested in learning more will be able to enter their contact details in mid-2024. The waitlist will open fall/winter of 2024. For information on YMCA child care, people are asked to visit the website
