Schweigert (pictured) said she is excited to see the upgraded space where kids can run around and have fun safely. (Lauryn Mackenzie / CHLY 101.7FM)

The Nanaimo Child Development Centre is raising funds to upgrade their indoor and outdoor play space to keep their no-cost playgroup program safe and welcoming for all.

The development centre’s Drop-in Community Playgroup program, allows children and families to have a safe, fenced-in, space to play, learn, and spend time together. The program runs every Tuesday and Thursday between 9:00 a.m. and 11:30 a.m. at the Nanaimo Child Development Centre. The indoor and outdoor playgroup is run year round, rain or shine.

The program is open to families with children aged zero to six.

The outdoor space that hosts the playgroup is starting to form some cracks, so the development centre is starting a fundraising campaign to upgrade the space.

“We're constantly adapting for how our space is changing, but it's not fitting for the kids anymore. It's no longer as safe as it can be,” said Stephanie Schweigert, Family Resource Navigator and Playgroup Lead.

She told CHLY that in the summertime they see about 85 children and adults attend the program. In the fall and winter, the number drops to around 40.

“We have stations set up, and the children lead the play. So they get to decide: ‘Do I want to do Play-Doh? Do I want to paint?’ And the parents follow them around and support them and interact with them. It's a free programme,” she said. “The only structure we do is at circle time; we do two songs and two books, and we give the kids a snack. It's really laid back, lots of fun, kid led.”

She said she sees moms, dads, grandparents, and caregivers all come to the space with their children to socialize with other families.

She said one her favourite parts of leading the playgroup is seeing the connection children and parents or guardians make.

“We have a big community of grandparents that bring their grandchildren, but the most I have seen the increase has been dads bringing their kids, and the confidence that it brings to be out in the community and form those connections with other dads,” she said. “It's probably been my favourite thing because they're connecting and they're parenting and they're making these friendships with people they may never have run across.”

While she enjoys seeing the connection between children and their grown-ups, Schweigert said the space they use is becoming unsafe and inaccessible.

“So we have wonderful nature out here, which is beautiful trees, but the trees are breaking the cement. They're making it harder for the kids to get around,” she said. “It's not an even, smooth surface. There's hills that have bumps in the end. We used to have these really fun cars, kids would ride the cars, they'd fall off. So we had to remove the cars.”

Along with the environmental issues, she said the play structures are growing out of date and are not inclusive for all children with accessibility needs.

Plans have already been finalized to renovate the space, and now the focus is on raising the $50,000 needed for the upgrades.

Organizers of a local golf tournament, The Big Kahuna Golf Classic, have already agreed to provide matching funding for up to half of the total, meaning the centre is looking for the public to pitch in $25,000.

“We are matched up with the Big Kahuna, who is [organized by] Archie Johnstone Plumbing, and they are matching up to $25,000 that the community donates, which is so incredible,” she said. “We're telling everyone: your $10 instantly becomes $20. Your $100 becomes $200. We are so lucky that they're matching.”

She said she is excited to see the upgraded space where kids can run around and have fun safely.

“My favourite part is a little car area where they're going to do a little road map where you can drive the cars around,” she said. “I just think that's so fun and so exciting with the kids' imagination to be able to pull up to the pretend gas station and fill up your car and drive around. I think that's probably what I'm most excited about.”

She said the children are just as excited as she is for the new upgrades and have been giving her a lot of ideas of what they would like to see.

Plans have already been finalized to renovate the space. (Lauryn Mackenzie / CHLY 101.7FM)

“They want more toys, which feels impossible because we have so many toys, but they want more toys. They want more balls,” she said. “They're excited about the basketball hoop area that we're going to have, and more slides. They want their cars back because some of them remember we used to have cars. So they're very excited about that.”

Construction is expected to start in September or October of this year. Schweigert said while construction is happening, the playgroup program will still be running out of a new indoor space at the Nanaimo Child Development Centre office.

She said the upgrades will provide the community a safe space to spend time with their kids and socialize with other families.

“I think that it's now going to be a space that stands for everything that we believe in. I'm hoping it opens up more possibilities for other people to use the space because the great thing about working at the centre is that we often rent out or lend out these spaces and rooms to other organizations,” Schweigert said. “So that will just be another extension, an outside extension, of what other community members can access.”

The matching dollar for dollar fundraising campaign is on now until October 1st. Donations can be made on the Nanaimo Child Development Centre website.

Funding Note: This story was produced with funding support from the Local Journalism Initiative, administered by the Community Radio Fund of Canada.

Newsroom Ethics • About our Newsroom • Report an Error • Corrections & Clarifications