Building Community Supports
The opportunity:
The Eagle River Valley is classified as a childcare desert. The lack of affordable and accessible childcare is at a crisis level, just like our need for workforce housing. Currently, we can only provide childcare for 50% of the need in our Valley. We desperately need high-quality, incremental, affordable, and accessible childcare.
What we will do:
The Vail Valley Foundation is uniquely positioned to embrace private and public partnerships to bring together local businesses, government, and private partners to build additional high-quality childcare facilities starting in Avon, and creating additional sites downvalley in Edwards, Eagle, and Gypsum.
Eagle River Valley Childcare Initiative
There are approximately 3,000 children ages 0-5 today needing childcare in our Valley. Today, approximately 1,400 children receive childcare through licensed centers, another 850 manage informally through unlicensed friends, family, and neighbors, and roughly 900 children have no viable childcare solution.
To address this critical need, the VVF is piloting the Eagle River Valley Childcare Initiative by building a childcare center in Avon, CO. This childcare center will be an employer-sponsored, nonprofit center that will provide the highest quality childcare, learning, and development to approximately 175 children in our Valley.
Childcare Tuition Assistance Scholarship Fund
Building new childcare facilities is step one, but new facilities will not work unless access to childcare services are affordable and accessible for our workforce. By creating a $5 million Childcare Tuition Scholarship Fund, the VVF will ensure that local businesses and the families and caregivers of our community who need it most will have affordable access to childcare.
Proposed rendering of Eagle River Valley Childcare facility