It might have been a tad bit chilly outside, but today we were fortunate to officially break ground on the new Little Building Blocks Early Childhood Development Center that will be built on S. Gardner Road (directly west of Orscheln Farm & Home). It's great to see continued growth in the community, but it's always a little more exciting when it's an expansion of a locally-owned business. In this case, Little Building Blocks will be almost doubling their current size and moving into their very own building. This will allow them to improve their operations AND incorporate new education opportunities for children. (I heard some ideas yesterday, but don't want to share until they are fully fleshed out. Let's just say, it's really cool.) It's an investment in the future of their business and a testament to what they think of the future of Gardner (thank you Marcia and Jeff). We should all be excited for them and Chamber looks forward to celebrating in the summer of 2021 when they open the new facility. It comes at a great time too, as the South Gardner Road corridor is exploding. I imagine a year from now you won't recognize any of those open fields and grassy lots. There's so much more to come.

What else does their move across town mean for Gardner? It means that their current space will likely become available for other enterprising individuals. If you are thinking about opening a business in Gardner or needing office space, reach out to Jacobs Properties at 816-523-6696 to learn more (they also have the old Roosters space available). 

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce recently reported that the number one challenge facing the workforce is the lack of affordable and quality childcare options in America. It's been that way for awhile now, but it's become a much bigger issue during COVID. Exasperated families have had to cope with closed centers, COVID restrictions and a general lack of options. We should consider ourselves lucky to have two relatively large, high-quality early childhood learning centers (Little Building Blocks and Children's Lighthouse) in Gardner. These, along with several smaller centers and numerous home-based daycare providers, lead the way in terms of shaping the future of our workforce through learning and providing parents a safe place for their children while they are in the workforce. Thank you to all of are childcare providers and once again, congratulations Little Building Blocks!