Muskegon Rescue Mission started its Rise Up Together capital campaign less than a year ago, but it's already passed the halfway mark to its goal of $5 million.
"We are at 3.7 million, so it’s moving extremely fast.” Executive Director, Dan Skoglund said.
The funds will go towards establishing a Community Resource Center, providing a centralized access point for local agencies, but Skoglund says what’s especially exciting is the preschool and daycare the nonprofit is setting up for kids and families.
“A day care is a new venture for us but there’s certainly a need in the city of Muskegon. There’s a number of families we know that their daycare costs them more than their monthly mortgage and for many people they’re having to choose ‘do I work and lose my benefits?’ And that puts them at a disadvantage economically,” he said.
The daycare will have a direct focus on low-income families. The plan is to move cycles of generational poverty to generational independence, by providing parents affordable childcare, so they can work their way to financial security. The daycare and preschool will also give kids early educational tools, which Skoglund says can help them find the starting line, where many fall behind.
“They can see that they have worth and value and they have a bright, bright future,” Skoglund said.
The 1.48-acre parcel being used for the project was gifted to Muskegon Rescue Mission by the City of Muskegon. Work on the 16,000 square foot facility will break ground in April, with a grand opening slated for the end of the year.
