Phase 1 Plans
510 SW 10th St.
Pendleton, OR 97801
Phase 2 Plans
920 SW Frazer Ave.
Pendleton, OR 97801
Our Progress
Progress Updates
2008-2018: Recognizing the ongoing shortage of child care, a group of Pendleton parents and business owners formed the original Pendleton Children’s Center board of directors and received 501(c)(3) status from the IRS in 2010. The board spent several fruitless years searching for an affordable and suitable location. Due to the effects and aftermath of the Great Recession, we did not have solid financial support from foundations and local businesses. That board eventually dissolved and nonprofit status lapsed in 2018.
September 2019: Re-energized by the increasing shortage of child care that was hurting both parents and Pendleton’s economic growth, a new board of directors came together and held our first meeting.
October-December 2019: We worked on our business plan, examined past child care surveys done locally by BMCC and Pendleton Parks & Recreation, and created a new survey (read the EO article).
January 2020: Surveyed hundreds of parents and employers in and around Pendleton about their child care needs (read the EO article). Based on the results from 322 parents and 63 employers, we determined there was a shortage of at least 150 infant, toddler and preschool slots in the area – confirming that Pendleton is a “child care desert.”
April 16, 2020: Received notification of reinstatement of our 501(c)(3) nonprofit status from the Internal Revenue Service. Refined our business plan as we continued to look for a suitable location.
October 2020: In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Pendleton School District sent a survey to parents of K-12 students, asking about their child care needs for children ages birth to age 4. This online survey of over 900 parents confirmed the need for at least 150 more child care slots.
2020-2021: Searched for a property or building in Pendleton, and explored options such as opening a small center in a church. We considered renovating space at Blue Mountain Community College, but this space was not large enough to be financially stable or get us to a capacity of 150 (read the EO article). We pursued a vacant lot owned by the Pendleton School District, but this also ended up not being a viable option (read the EO article). We then considered locating modular classrooms at in Stillman Park, but due to the location in a historic district, that was not possible (read the EO article).
November 2021: Received an Oregon Community Foundation GO Kids grant: $100,000 per year for two years (read the EO article), which jumpstarted our capital campaign as we applied for the opportunity to acquire the Senior Center building in Pendleton.
January 2022: We were the nonprofit chosen to receive the former Senior Center – a 7,800-sf Quonset hut built in 1948 – a donation to us from the Active Senior Center of Pendleton Board of Directors, which was dissolving as a nonprofit (read the EO article). We also moved towards eventually acquiring the adjacent building on Frazer Avenue, which would give us the space needed provide care and education for 150 children on the upper level, with current tenants remaining on the lower level.
January-February 2022: Working with architect Mark Seder of Seder Architecture + Urban Design, we completed a feasibility study and developed our Master Plan, and continued fundraising and grant writing.
March 2022: We held a rummage sale in order to clear the building and prepare it for renovations (read the EO article), and raised nearly $3,000. We asked the Pendleton Development Commission to expand the Urban Renewal District boundary to include the Pendleton Children’s Center’s property (read the EO article). Demolition of the drop ceiling and interior walls began in the building (read the EO article).
April 2022: The Pendleton City Council agreed to expand the water line along SW 10th St., which will allow the installation of fire suppression sprinklers in both buildings on our block (read the EO article).
May 2022: Received a $50,000 grant from Pendleton Foundation Trust, to be used for the acquisition of the adjacent building at 920 SW Frazer Ave. (read the EO article) and a $20,000 grant from the Wildhorse Foundation for Phase 1 renovations (read the EO article).
June-August 2022: As we continued to raise money from local individuals and service clubs, as well as local and regional foundations, McCormack Construction moved forward with renovations of the former Senior Center building (Phase 1). We are also working to acquire the adjacent building at 920 SW Frazer Ave., with plans to renovate the upper level for infants, toddlers and preschoolers (Phase 2). Our first goal is to open two classrooms for preschool-age children in October 2022, and continue to renovate and expand as we raise funds to do so.
September 2022: We were awarded 36 Preschool Promise slots. Child Care Director Brittney Jackson has hired staff for the center, and McCormack Construction is finishing our first two classrooms in time for an October opening (read the EO article). We were also featured prominently in the September issue of Oregon Business magazine (read it here) about the child care shortage.
October 2022: On Oct. 3, we welcomed U.S. Senator Ron Wyden for a tour of the center. (read the EO article). As we near our opening day, we will be continuing to reach out to local businesses who depend on a strong workforce to contribute to our capital campaign to continue renovations to our building (indoor play space, cafeteria, ADA restrooms, staff workspace and a new outdoor playground). We will not be able to expand our services and serve more families without this.
November 9, 2022: Our teachers welcomed the first group of preschoolers to the Center! We will continue to enroll children in our Preschool Promise program (with before- and afterschool care) until we are at full capacity: 36 children. We are still fundraising and planning to grow.
December 2022: We were granted $250,000 in ARPA funding from Umatilla County for our next phase of construction! Our architect, Mark Seder, and general contractor, McCormack Construction, are busy planning for renovations to our large indoor playspace and multipurpose room, restrooms, kitchen, office, staff breakroom and storage areas. We continue to raise money from donation and grants to complete this phase, which will allow us to increase our capacity and care for more children!
January-February 2023: We are up and running with a full staff, and as of mid-February, full enrollment in our two Preschool Promise classrooms. We are finalizing plans for upcoming renovations, and are so grateful to be the recipient of a $250,000 EOCCO SHARE grant for this next phase of construction. We are also planning a community fundraiser: “Young at Art” coming in April … check back for details soon!
March-April 2023: We have full enrollment in our two preschool classrooms through June, but we expect to have openings for summertime child care for children ages 3-8, so watch for that announcement in late May or early June.
Our Young at Art fundraiser April 22-23 was an amazing success, bringing in about $20,000 in sales and donations! It was also a great opportunity for a lot of community members to tour our classrooms and see the construction happening to expand and increase our capacity. Our board and staff deeply appreciate the Young at Art committee volunteers and all those who donated their art, time, expertise and passion to this wonderful event!
May-June 2023: In early May, the parents of 38 children in Pendleton learned that their child care center was closing at the end of the month because the owner was planning to move away. With this news, our board of directors had an emergency meeting and decided to help fill this gap by changing our original plans and creating three classrooms within our large indoor play area/cafeteria so that we could start to provide infant, toddler and preschool care to community families who were affected by this closure and need child care to work.
Since then, two providers of in-home child care have taken over the large child care center, so that is good news … but in doing so, they closed their own smaller in-home child care spaces so there is a net loss of local slots.
Thanks to the generosity of the City of Pendleton, we were granted $25,000 from the Community Development Fund to help pay for our additional construction and start-up operating expenses. McCormack Construction Co. is working hard to finish our restrooms, kitchen and these classrooms so we’ll be ready to enroll up to 36 new children later this summer.
To be added to our waiting list, please email director@pendletonchildrenscenter.org and include your name, contact information, your child(ren)’s name and age, and the days/hours you will need child care.
Summer 2023 update: From June through August, we ran a summer program for preschoolers while McCormack Construction and local subcontractors continued work on our “Phase 1B,” which includes a new HVAC system for the building, new lighting and electrical, updated plumbing and a beautiful new kitchen, plus new restrooms.
In September, while all the final details were being completed on Phase 1B and our three new classrooms, we welcomed 36 Preschool Promise children into our two existing classrooms.
We had hoped to begin enrolling 36 new children into our new community infant, toddler and preschool rooms in September, but the building was not quite ready.
Now that it’s October, we are just waiting for all our required inspections to be completed to assure the building is safe and ready to welcome more children. We are getting ready to begin enrollment in November, or sooner if possible.
March 2024 update: In our second year of operations, we are caring for 36 children in our two Preschool Promise classrooms, and enjoying our new kitchen and restroom facilities. We are also running an afterschool program for kindergartners, who arrive by bus from the Pendleton Early Learning Center every afternoon.
Unfortunately, we have been hit by a number of circumstances that have delayed our expansion plans. There were some final remodeling details needed in our new classrooms that delayed our licensing inspections in the final months of 2023. Then, in January’s prolonged cold snap — like a number of other businesses in Pendleton — we suffered the break of a fire sprinkler line. This flooded our main room and our three new classrooms, yet again delaying our enrollment expansion. Thankfully this did not affect our existing classrooms, kitchen or restrooms.
As of late March, we are still waiting on our insurance company before we can begin replacing the damaged 75-year-old wooden flooring that was warped due to the flood.
Once the flooring is replaced and our new classrooms walls are re-installed, we will need to wait for all our required inspections to be completed to assure the building is safe and ready to welcome more children.
We thank everyone on our waiting list for your patience! If you’d like to be added to our waiting list, please contact Director Brittney Jackson at director@pendletonchildrenscenter.org and include your name, contact information, your child(ren)’s name and age, and the days/hours you will need child care.