Trust, foundation give thousands to kids’ center

The gifts will help pay for play equipment.

YOUNGSTOWN — Millcreek Children’s Center, 44 Essex St., has received more than $11,000 from the Ruth H. Beecher Charitable Trust and the Kennedy Family Foundation.

The Beecher Charitable Trust donated $2,275 to help buy and install The Castle, a barrier-free, age-appropriate, climbing and sliding play unit with safe ground cover.

The total cost of the project is $12,640 and the center continues to seek additional funding to enable installation before the end of the year.

“Outdoor play is an important part of child development and goes beyond just giving the kids something to do. A well-planned playground can stimulate a child’s imagination and their curiosity as they explore and learn in ways beyond what they can experience indoors,” said Sister Jerome Corcoran, executive director, thanking the Beecher Charitable Trust for helping to provide a safe and stimulating place for the children to play.

The Kennedy Family Foundation, a component fund of the Community Foundation of the Mahoning Valley, has donated $9,600 to Millcreek Children’s Center’s Sponsor-a-Child program.

The program is an opportunity to contribute to helping children, ages 3 to 5, acquire the necessary knowledge, skills and attitudes needed to overcome the challenges of poverty and the resulting decreased opportunities in education.

Although most of the parents qualify for child-care allowances from Job & Family Services, they are responsible for co-pays at the center that, in some cases, can be up to 10 percent of their income. This can be a real hardship, especially for a family of four with parents working for minimum wage.

Millcreek Children’s Center in Youngstown provides child care and kindergarten preparation instruction for children of the working poor.