Alburgh Family Clubhouse groundbreaking

Alburgh Family Clubhouse Board of Directors breaking ground on the site of the new child care facility on Missile Base Road. 

ALBURGH — After years of dreaming, planning, designing and fundraising, the Alburgh Family Clubhouse has officially broken ground on construction of a brand new, state-of-the-art child care and early learning center on Missile Base Road in Alburgh.

The clubhouse is on track to open in fall 2025. The clubhouse will address an urgent need for expanded child care and early learning opportunities for young children and their families in the small rural communities of Grand Isle and Franklin counties. AFC will offer full-day, full-year infant, toddler, preschool and afterschool programs. 

AFC’s mission is to strengthen families, serve the community and help each and every child get a great start in life. Affordable access to high-quality early care and learning is a critical component in a vibrant and flourishing community. By expanding this access, the clubhouse will boost economic development by creating new jobs and enabling parents with young children to participate fully in the local economy. In an innovative partnership with the Parent Child Center at Northwest Counseling and Support Services, the clubhouse will also offer parenting education, family support services and opportunities for vitally important social connections among local families.

“We could not be more excited to finally break ground on the clubhouse facility. This represents years of effort from our Board, our local, state and federal partners, and the donors and philanthropic contributors who have encouraged and supported us along the way,” Gina Lewis, AFC president, said. “Alburgh families need and deserve a center that can provide childcare, early education, and after-school programming right here in our community. Today, we are officially on our way to realizing a vision to bring positive change to Alburgh, and the region, with this enduring resource.”

The Clubhouse Board of Directors would like to express our gratitude to the people of Alburgh who believed, and to the individuals and organizations that helped us reach this moment:

  • Alburgh Select Board

  • Building Bright Futures

  • George Mergens Foundation

  • Hoehl Family Foundation

  • Lake Champlain Islands Economic Development Corporation

  • Let's Grow Kids

  • North Country Federal Credit Union

  • Northern Borders Regional Commission

  • Northwest Counseling & Support Services

  • Northwest Regional Planning Commission

  • Senator Bernie Sanders

  • Sunset Lake Enterprises & the Bellavance Family

  • United Way of Northwest Vermont

  • USDA Rural Development

  • Vermont Agency for Commerce & Community Development: Community Development Program, Community Recovery and Revitalization Program

  • Dozens of community contributors of all ages, backgrounds, and expertise

The AFC Board also appreciates the team of consultants who worked alongside them — Duncan Wisniewski Architects, who designed the new building, Heart of a Child Early Care and Learning Consultation, and Capital Project Consulting (PCI).

Reeva Murphy, from Heart of a Child, who serves as project manager for the project expressed: “The passion, persistence, and courage of the AFC Board and its supporters has created a model for other small rural communities to emulate in expanding access to high-quality early care and education for young children and families. It has been a tremendous effort to get to this point. Children and families in Alburgh need this center operational as soon as we can build it  and, with construction underway, every day now brings us closer to that goal.”

(0) comments

Welcome to the discussion.