Sixth Educare Center in Nation Planned for South Oklahoma City

Oklahoma City, OK (PRWEB) November 5, 2007 -- Oklahoma Gov. Brad Henry, along with state and local officials, business leaders and educators, gathered at a groundbreaking Nov. 5 at the future site of Oklahoma City Educare, the sixth center of its kind and the first Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED)-certified Educare facility in the nation.

Scheduled to open in 2009, Oklahoma City Educare will serve 200 at-risk children, prenatal to five years old, with year-round educational programs and developmental childcare. Educare?s programs and principles are based on research that shows low-income children gain a dramatically greater opportunity for emotional, social, financial and cognitive success if they are provided with educational opportunities at an early age. Upon the Oklahoma City center?s completion, Oklahoma will become the only state with two cities that have Educare Centers. An Educare Center opened in Tulsa, Okla., in August 2006.

?By offering our youngest citizens a helping hand when they need it most, Educare can put children on the right track to a successful life,? said Gov. Brad Henry. ?I applaud the Inasmuch Foundation and its partners for their support of this visionary project. The investment they make in our children today will pay dividends for many years to come.?

Partners in the Oklahoma City project include Inasmuch Foundation, Sunbeam Family Services Inc., Community Action Agency and Oklahoma City Public Schools.

The estimated $10.5 million capital budget includes an endowment that will help fund future building maintenance and other unforeseen costs. Founding donors include Inasmuch Foundation, George Kaiser Family Foundation, Aubrey and Katie McClendon, Tom and Sch?ree Ward, Buffett Early Childhood Fund, E.L. and Thelma Gaylord Foundation, Potts Family Foundation, The Garrett Family though Garrett and Company LLC, George and Nancy Records, and Kirkpatrick Family Fund.

Educare centers have previously been established in Chicago (2000); Omaha, Neb. (2003); Milwaukee (2005), Tulsa, Okla. (2006) and Denver (2007). Educare supporters hope to create 12 to 15 Educare Centers in a network reaching across 10 to 12 states.

Media Contact:

Evelyn Klopp

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