MADISON, Wis. — The Playing Field broke ground on its new facility Thursday, hoping to help more families pave their way out of poverty.
The Playing Field is a day care service dedicated to breaking barriers faced by low-income families.
Abbi Kruse is the founder of The Playing Field and said housing, employment and child care are three of the main things that keep people from escaping a life of poverty.
“So what we know about families facing housing insecurity, child care is the number one need; even if you find a home to live in. If you don’t have child care, you can’t go to work,” said Kruse.
Through the World We Imagine Campaign, The Playing Field raised over $4 million to open a new early childhood school project.
“We have been doing early care and education since 2015. Since then, we have expanded to three locations, but this partnership was so unique,” said Kruse.
The center is currently at capacity, with 90 children between the ages of 6 weeks old to 6 years old enrolled at the Madison facility.
Kruse said this expansion will allow The Playing Field to expand its services to up to 100 children.
The funds will be used to build and furnish a 15,000 square foot building that used to be the home of Menards on Madison’s East Side.
That building is already home to the Plumbers Union Local 75.
“The plumbers approached us with this idea of providing on-site child care for their members and their students,” said Kruse. “It was very appealing to us because our parents will be able to participate in the skilled trades program.”
Spencer Statz is a business representative for the plumbers union in Madison.
He said this collaboration will allow for parents to have their children close by while they work on their careers.
“It is a great partnership where first and foremost the folks that they serve can have job opportunities within the trade,” said Statz.
Statz said he hopes this collaboration with The Playing Field and the Road Home will bring in a diverse group of people to work in the trades.
“We don’t know what individuals are held back by child care and never enter the industry so it is hard to measure that for us right now because they may never walk in the door,” said Statz. “We are hoping this facility will eliminate that barrier and we will have a greater influx of people.”
The plumbers union is already set up in the space. The Playing Field still needs to build its ten classrooms.
Construction is set to begin this spring and Kruse anticipated the new center will be completed by Jan. 2025.