When the only childcare centre in town closed, Yackandandah Health and the community rallied together to open the Little Yacks centre – a month earlier than originally planned.
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Yackandandah Health chief executive Annette Nuck said families had been left in the lurch by the closure on December 6 of the Community Early Years Childcare centre, a subsidiary of Albury Wodonga Community College.
She said the decision was made to bring the Little Yacks opening date forward from January 14 to December 11 to provide emergency care for families after the other centre closed.
“Families needed childcare and we’re supporting the community on that,” she said.
“It’s just before Christmas and it’s important people are able to work and important they have their children cared for.”
It comes as D-day approaches for Henty, Walwa, Kergunyah, Mitta Mitta, Baranduda and Bellbridge communities, with their Community Early Years Childcare centres slated to close on December 21.
Ms Nuck said opening the centre a month early was no mean feat.
She said working bees had been held each weekend for the past month, including one last Friday which ran into the night.
The Men’s Shed, parents, volunteers and Yackandandah Health workers all gave up their time to ensure the centre was ready for Tuesday’s opening.
Ms Nuck said 15 children attended the first day of Little Yacks, with another 39 families expressing interest in the service.
She said they wanted to do what they could to help during an uncertain time.
“At really short notice coming up with other arrangements is often difficult, people don’t necessarily have a relative close by and because there’s quite a lot of disruption it’s not that easy to find another childcare,” she said.
“It’s also a disadvantage to children.”
Ms Nuck said the first day had been successful and additional rooms, including the nursery, would be ready in January.
Little Yacks is based in a section of the old Yackandandah Bush Nursing Hospital.
Yackandandah Health hopes to create an innovative early education program bringing the young children and the elders at the Residential Aged Care together in a mutually beneficial scheme.
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Digital journalists with The Border Mail.
Digital journalists with The Border Mail.
