Cascade Health Alliance awards $363k to KCC
- Community
- Foundation
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KCC childcare center receives large donation
Cascade Health Alliance (CHA) has awarded Klamath Community College (KCC) more than $363,000 to advance the construction of the institution’s collaborative center that will support low-income families in achieving economic stability, educational advancement, self-sufficiency, and workforce access.
“Klamath Community College is grateful to Cascade Health Alliance for recognizing that a healthy and economically strong community needs a good foundation of child care,” KCC President Dr. Roberto Gutierrez said.
The center will provide up to 144 slots for children — ages infant to 5 — to attend the center, freeing up parents to work or attend higher education in the Klamath Basin. It will be the largest childcare center in southern Oregon.
“KCC could not be more pleased with CHA’s generous donation and we want to especially thank CHA President and Chief Executive Office Grant Kennon for his support and foresight in helping fund this project,” Dr. Gutierrez said.
PIVOT Architecture: Architectural rendering of the Klamath Community College Childcare Learning Center currently under construction on the college campus. The center will support 12 classrooms for 144 children infant to age 5 in a preschool learning environment. It will also have two classrooms for KCC Early Childhood Learning students. Plans are to open the center in 2027.
The funding comes from CHA, which was an awardee of the Oregon Health Authority’s Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) Pilot Program, CHA said in a press release. Lack of affordable childcare is one of the most significant hurdles for TANF recipients pursuing employment, education, stable housing, mental health treatment, or substance use disorder recovery.
By reducing childcare instability, the KCC Childcare Learning Center will directly support parents and future provider students in Early Childhood Education programming by providing quality and affordable childcare and a well-educated workforce to serve rural Oregon.
“Supporting KCC’s Childcare Learning Center is a natural and powerful extension of CHA’s mission to build a healthy community by investing in strong, stable families right here at home,” Said Grant Kennon, CEO of Cascade Health Alliance. “By removing the barrier of affordable childcare, we empower low-income families to pursue higher learning and self-sufficiency while simultaneously training the next generation of early childhood educators, creating a cycle that strengthens families, grows our local workforce, and advances healthier, more resilient communities for all.”
The $18.5 million KCC Childcare Learning Center is being developed in partnership with the Oregon Childhood Development Coalition and Klamath County. The center is under construction on the KCC campus and plans to open in 2027. It will provide childcare services while also serving as an educational and workforce-training site for students enrolled in Early Childhood Education and Paraeducator programs.
KCC has long held the position of not asking taxpayers for any additional bond money for its capital construction projects, and the childcare center is no different. Much of the construction costs are covered by state and federal grants.
Meanwhile, the KCC Foundation has launched a $1 million capital campaign to help with the construction. The foundation is asking the community to donate to this campaign — called “Acorns to Oaks — in support of the project. The CHA money will be included as part of the capital campaign goal.
To donate to the campaign, contact Lisa Carter at carter@klamathcc.edu or call 541-8802234. To donate online: klamathcc.edu/foundation.
For more information about KCC and its programs, visit www.klamathcc.edu.