Ground Broken for New Head Start Building

12/18/2003 - $4 million Project to serve children and families and employ 41 people.

Kingston, NY -- Ulster County Community Action Committee will serve 138 local children and their families and create 29 new full time employment opportunities when a brand new Early/Head Start building is constructed near the Colonial Gardens and Stuyvesant Charter apartment complexes next year. Congressman Maurice Hinchey, Assemblyman Kevin Cahill and Kingston Mayor James Sottile were on hand at the Kingston Housing Authority today to kick off the $4 million project, labeled by all as a major cooperative undertaking for the community.
“We’ve needed this building since 1998 when the Kingston School District had to re-occupy the Sophie Finn School,” said Ulster County Community Action Committee Director Larry Kithcart, “and seeing this actually get underway now is really exciting for all of us.” Kithcart, who with his Early/Head Start Director Pam Wenner, developed the program and plans and secured the funding from at least four different sources, noted that more children and families than ever before will be served when the building opens. “And while we will continue to be a child-focused agency,” he added, “this building will be way more than just a school. It will be a community education center with the capacity to help parents meet their children’s needs, and with the capacity to help other service organizations assist our clients too.”
Congressman Hinchey, whose support helped to secure a series of grants totaling $1.8 million for the project, agreed. "The availability of adequate early childhood care is a key factor in allowing parents to earn a decent living. This new facility will allow many more people in Ulster County to go to work knowing that their young children are in a safe and nurturing environment. Moreover, Head Start and Early Head Start can greatly aid in a child's development."
Assemblyman Cahill, who helped push the project through at the New York State level said “I am happy to have been able to assist Ulster County Community Action Head Start in this

Early Childhood Facility Project. The hard work and dedication put forth by all involved is certainly to be commended. Head Start's efforts in providing much-needed services to our community are invaluable.”
Kingston Mayor James Sottile, instrumental in helping the group locate the new center stressed the importance of the new facility to the community. “This will be a great addition because it allows for an expansion of vital services to those who most need them.” Echoing Kithcart’s comments, Sottile added that “This is not just a child care center, it’s a learning center. It’s long been clear how important it is to start educating our children at an early age. We’ll do that, and at the same time, help their parents go off to work knowing what a positive environment their children are enjoying.”
Both Mayor Sottile and Kingston Housing Authority (KHA) Executive Director Steven Fischer expressed excitement about the location of the new facility on property once owned by the KHA. “This is a natural location for a center like this because so many of the residents in Colonial Gardens and Stuyvesant Charter will be able to use it,” said Sottile. Fischer concurred saying that the cooperative effort displayed in bringing the project to fruition bodes well for future operations. “The folks at Community Action are great partners not only for our agency, but for many others throughout the city and county. We think this spirit of cooperation is essential in maximizing opportunities for self-sufficiency not just here, but throughout the area.”
Officials were uncertain at the groundbreaking exactly what the construction time lines would be. But contracts call for the 22,500 sq. ft. building to be complete within one year of the commencement of construction. The Ulster County Community Action Committee has already begun to serve some new families in anticipation of having new facilities in the near future. Infant and toddler childcare and early childhood education programs are at the core of the services to be offered. Children from age 6 weeks to 5 years and their families, and in some cases pregnant women, are served in the program that also has a strong nutritional component.
More information on Early/Head Start and other Ulster County Community Action Committee initiatives is available by contacting Lara Lovgren at 845-338-8750 x 118.
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