Throwback Thursday - ‘01 United Way of Aroostook Telethon

PRESQUE ISLE, Maine (WAGM) -

WAGM and the United Way have a long standing partnership, and have held many telethons throughout the decades. In this week’s Throwback Thursday we’ll dial the time machine back to 2001, where we’ll take a look at that year’s United Way Telethon and see how the United Way’s support helped provide childcare opportunities in Aroostook County.

Another agency that is supported by the United Way of Aroostook is the Aroostook County Action Program. ACAP has 21 locations and services residence in nearly every single community in Aroostook County. Laurie Nelson from ACAP will tell us more about ACAP’s childcare program.

We have facilities all the way from Fort Kent, all the way into actually Washington County. We have one that we service in Danforth. And we provide services across the county. So if people are in need of childcare, just give our office a call and we can match you up there, where you need to be.

We have infant programs, toddler programs, preschool programs and school age programs. So we service 6 weeks up to about 13. We service about 243 children Throughout the county.

Kids come in typically in the morning and we provide breakfast for them. Then they go into what they call their work time and they have at that point in time the teacher or the caregivers work alongside with them, Asking open-ended question, helping them process what they’re doing. We have outside time, lunch time, snack time and for the full day programs we do have a rest time in the afternoon and then after rest time it kind of continues into the work time play time.

So most obvious goal is to help parents in need that to have a safe and fun place for the children to go during the day. But much happens while the children are. Here a lot of learning Happens it’s not just playing. Our childcare funds come from the state and in order to receive those funds, we have to have local funds to match those and United Way is our seed money. So we are able to fulfill our grant with the state and provide and continue to provide services for the children.

I Think United Way is wonderful. It helps many people and many children. And I think it certainly helps us, it’s able to allow us to get certain things in the classrooms that children may need or outdoor toys to help fulfill their day while they’re away from home, so I think. It would be very helpful.

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