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News Release

Building Better Futures
P.O. Box 1571, Kent, Washington 98035-1571
A consortium comprised of the King County Housing Authority, Puget Sound Educational Service District, Kent Youth and Family Services and the Center for Career Alternatives

For more information contact: Rhonda Rosenberg, KCHA, Communications Director, (206) 574-1185

May 27, 2004

PRESCHOOLERS TO PRESIDE OVER THE KENT FAMILY CENTER GRAND OPENING CELEBRATION ON FRIDAY, MAY 28

 

Head Start preschoolers will join Senator Patty Murray, King County Executive Ron Sims, Kent Mayor Jim White, Kent Police Chief Ed Crawford, Peter Berliner of the Paul G. Allen Foundation and members of the Building Better Futures partnership to celebrate the grand opening of a much-needed community facility in Kent. The Kent Family Center will house Head Start classrooms, a career development center and a health care clinic, serving the Kent and Covington communities.

Kent – Preschoolers from the Kent Youth and Families Head Start class will kick off the grand opening celebration of the Kent Family Center at the Springwood Apartments with a spirited performance of Mo Willem's award-winning story "Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus." At 11 a.m. on Friday, May 28, 19 vivacious tots will rev up the audience of corporate donors, charitable foundations, nonprofit agencies, local government officials and community supporters, before officially cutting the ribbon at the entrance to their new home. The Kent Family Center, the first of two planned community amenities for the East Hills area of Kent, houses four Head Start classrooms, a Women, Infants and Children (WIC) health care clinic, an adult learning and jobs center and a public meeting space for East Hill residents.

Children cut the ribbon to the new Kent Family Center.

Senator Patty Murray, King County Executive Sims, Kent Mayor White, and Kent Police Chief Ed Crawford will be joined by a representative of Congresswoman Jennifer Dunn, and other partners to celebrate this community-based initiative.

"The Kent Family Center truly will bring hope, help and opportunity to Kent's poorest families," said Murray. "Nearly 12 percent of households in Kent now have incomes below the poverty line. The Family Center will both prepare children to succeed in school and help their parents develop job skills that will make their families economically self-sufficient. Additionally, the clinic will ensure that everyone stays healthy. This wrap-around approach to human services will ensure that the neediest among us will have the opportunity to achieve their full potential."

The Family Center, a $4.2 million, two-story, 20,400-square-foot facility, features four permanent Head Start classrooms, an expanded Women, Infants and Children (WIC) program run by the Seattle-King County Health Department, an adult learning and jobs center run by the Center for Career Alternatives, and a large community meeting space for East Hill residents. It is located on the East Hill of Kent, at the entrance of the Springwood Apartments, a 333-unit public housing development owned and managed by the King County Housing Authority.

County Executive Sims said, "Building Better Futures is a unique partnership created to begin to address the need for community facilities and programs in low-income communities in South County. In these tough economic times, it's great to see nonprofit agencies, the philanthropic community, the local community and government working together to help improve the futures and enrich the lives of many of our poorest families. The county is proud to be a partner in this venture."

Building Better Futures is a consortium of four agencies: Kent Youth and Family Services, King County Housing Authority, the Puget Sound Educational Service District and the Center for Career Alternatives.

Building Better Futures Capital Campaign Chair Jim Berrios, a local businessman, is also excited about this endeavor."The Kent Family Center will provide a permanent facility for a state-of-the art Head Start program, health care for mothers and children, and classes and skills training for adults to help them on the path to economic self-sufficiency. It's a real community asset. Sincere thanks to the many partners who have already contributed to help make this project a reality and to those yet to donate who will help us reach our goal."

To date, funding for the Kent Family Center has been provided by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the Head Start Bureau of the U. S. Department of Health and Human Services, the Medina Foundation, the Paul G. Allen Foundation, the McEachern Foundation, Weyerhaeuser Company Foundation, Seattle Foundation, the King County Housing Authority, the Bank of America Foundation, PACCAR Foundation, Boeing Corporation, Employees Community Fund of Boeing Puget Sound, Microsoft Corporation, Joshua Green Foundation, Norcliffe Foundation, the Kawabe Memorial Fund and King County and a host of individuals and businesses, mainly in the Kent and Covington communities.

The Springwood Youth Center, a second facility dedicated to serving older youth and strengthening academic performance, will break ground in the next year.