The Trenton Military Family Resource centre has expanded its presence in the Quinte region, adding its fourth child care centre, located in the village of Batawa.
The Resource Centre officially opens Wednesday afternoon with a ceremony at 2 p.m.
It is located on the first floor of the former Batawa Shoe Factory, now home to Batawa Lofts residential units.
There will be a tour of the child care centre.
In a released statement the MFRC says: The move to open a fourth location came from a need to ensure military families have access to licensed, flexible child care, as well as from discussions with Mrs. Sonja Bata.
Director of the Batawa Development Corporation Bengt Gunnarsson says the idea was to offer the best child care facility. “…we connected with the Military Family Resources Centre. With Batawa’s strategic location in the region and its plans for future developments, we felt this partnership would be an asset for the Quinte region.”
MFRC Executive Director Tamara Kleinschmidt says, “With Batawa’s proximity to CFB Trenton there is a notable presence of military families living in the village and nearby Frankford.”
She added, “The vision of our Batawa child care programming will be to capitalize on the amazing location and surrounding natural amenities. The ample outdoor space, in addition to the beautiful indoor space, furnished with natural and sustainable materials, will provide an excellent learning and playful environment for children of military and civilian families.”
The MFRC – Batawa branch is now open. with 22 children in the space.
The child care will include infant, toddler, preschool and before and after school care will be available.
Priority will be given to military families but child care is also available to civilian families.
The Trenton MFRC also operates licensed child care out of two locations in Trenton (at their main site as well as before and after school care at St. Mary Catholic School) and one in Belleville, which opened in 2017.
