Partnerships to bring local child care service to Radford community
From left: John Cox, RU Foundation; Richard Harshberger, City Council; Agida Manizade, Hugh McBide, Sandra Beland; Jeff Price, Mark Williams, Bruce Brown, Radford Mayor; Jeff Irby, First Bank; Larry Martin, Martin & Associates; & Robert "Bobby" Nicholson, City Council
The sun was shining when Radford Child Development, Inc. (RCD) and Rainbow Child Care Center broke ground on June 17 on the Radford Early Learning Center.
The Radford Early Learning Center, scheduled to open in January 2016, will offer high-quality, affordable early childhood education. Work on the Tyler Avenue site will begin in earnest following the groundbreaking ceremony.
"This is an essential project that will improve the quality of life in our community,” said Agida Manizade, president of RCD and associate professor of mathematics at Radford University.
According to Manizade, RCD hopes that access to the center will convince professionals with young families that Radford is the right place to live and work.
"We will be able to attract and retain top quality workers, and, at the university, top faculty and staff," she said.
RCD is a grassroots, community-led, non-profit organization established in 2012 to develop a quality, certified child care facility in Radford. It is run by a diverse board of directors who devote their time, expertise and personal funds to support their mission.
Rainbow Child Care Center, one of the fastest growing child care providers in the country, will operate the center.
The project is also supported by partnerships with the Radford University Foundation and Price Williams Realty.
Jeff Price, of Price Williams, and Hugh McBride, a sales and marketing executive with Rainbow, were on hand for the groundbreaking
"We're very excited about this project," Price said. "We've worked hard with the [RCD] board, with Rainbow and with the Radford University Foundation to make sure this is such an added benefit for our community."
The push for a new child care solution in Radford began in fall 2012 when the Radford University Child Development Task Force conducted a survey of faculty and staff and found that 93 percent of the respondents said it was important to have a quality child care facility near campus. In 2013, Radford Child Development Inc. raised the necessary capital to begin work on the center.
For more information, visit the Radford Early Learning Center website.