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Background:
The Magdalena Ecke Family YMCA serves more than 50,000 children, teenagers, adults and seniors residing in our community. The YMCA mission is to provide all individuals, regardless of age, religion, ethnic background or income level, with a safe and wholesome environment in which they are able to gain enriching experiences that positively influence their lives. From senior fitness classes to family caravans to summer day camps, the YMCA gives its members and participants the opportunity to escape from the chaos of everyday life, and improve their lives, whether it is by increasing their fitness levels, strengthening their families or developing lifelong friendships.
The Magdalena Ecke Family YMCA's current preschool was constructed more than forty years ago. Over the years, the structure has declined to the point where maintenance and repairs are not able to bring it up to standard. Despite the building itself, the preschool has been able to offer an outstanding curriculum, attracting many families from North County who are placed on a waiting list due to full enrollment. To address each of these concerns, the Board of Managers and staff hired an architect and design team to create a plan to renovate the preschool that would meet the needs of our students for years to come.
One critical aspect of the curriculum is art. Art is critical to a child's cognitive, socio-emotional and motor development. For young children, art is their first opportunity to make independent decisions and choices. Additionally, making art increases a child's self esteem, gross motor skills and helps them build their knowledge of the objects in the world around them. It is for these reasons that our preschool staff incorporates art into their curriculum on a daily basis. They focus heavily on process art, as opposed to product art, which allows the children the freedom to be creative, use their imaginations and explore different possibilities in interpreting art projects.
Despite the critical need for these fundamental skills and cognitive development in children, art is one of the first areas to be eliminated or excluded in the current challenging economic environment. To this end, renovation of the preschool classrooms will strengthen the capacity and ability of the school to support basic education. The project will benefit the community both in scope and scale. Firstly, the fundamental skills and cognitive development attributed to the process art curriculum at an early age have the potential to improve the students' education and ability to learn over a lifetime. Secondly, the renovation will provide an increased ability to reach more individuals, both affluent and underprivileged, within the community
Project Description:
The requested funds will be utilized to purchase new flooring, cabinets and windows for a classroom renovation designated for art. This grant will benefit a minimum of 200 children and their families (annually) residing in the local community by providing them with access to a high-quality, affordable preschool education. Many of these children come from low-income households and receive assistance from our YMCA in the form of scholarships through our Financial Assistance Program or third-party payments.
Furthermore, creating functional classrooms will require additional but related work. The Encinitas Rotary Club and the Magdalena Ecke Family YMCA will work together to implement the expansion and renovation of the YMCA preschool classrooms. The project will be managed by the Magdalena Ecke Family YMCA staff and Board of Management in conjunction with a local architect and construction company. The Encinitas Rotary Club will be involved with this project by offering financial support and manpower to complete hands-on projects. Work requiring the assistance of Rotarians will include, but are not limited to, painting the classrooms and furniture assembly.
This project will be open to as many Rotarians as are interested in getting involved. The Del Mar Rotary Club and Encinitas Coastal Rotary Club have also indicated an interest in supporting the project and can fill in on hands-on projects wherever they are needed. In addition, it should also be noted that four members of the Encinitas Rotary Club are involved with the YMCA's Board of Management, and one member serves as a staff person for the organization.
Projected Budget
Flooring $5,600
Windows $1,500
Cabinets $ 900
Projected Budget Total: $8,000
Proposed Financing
Sponsoring Rotary Club: $4,000
Amount DDF requested from District Grants Committee: $4,000
Total from all sources: $8,000
Estimated Timeline 12 months
Coordinating the Project
Sponsoring club: Encinitas Rotary Club #914
Contact Person: David E. Lam
President: Tom Cozens
President Elect: Roger Bolus
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