Itsy Bitsy Celebration
Holyoke Community College will celebrate the grand reopening of its Itsy Bitsy Child Watch Center in a newly renovated and expanded space on Wednesday, Sept. 24.
A ribbon-cutting ceremony and reception will take place in its new location on the second floor of the Frost Building beginning at 10:30 a.m.
Among those scheduled to attend are Amy Kershaw, commissioner of the Massachusetts Department of Early Education and Care, state Sen. John Velis, state Rep. Pat Duffy, HCC President George Timmons, and representatives from the Irene E. and George A. Davis Foundation.
Itsy Bitsy Child Watch is a free, drop-in service for student parents who need short-term child care while they attend classes, study, or meet with tutors and advisers. It opened as a pilot program in fall 2022 after a $100,000 state allocation. At the time, HCC was only the second community college in Massachusetts – and the only one in western Massachusetts – to offer a free child watch service.
“Our first semester, we had 19 students enrolled,” said Kimm Quinlan, director of HCC’s Early Childhood Initiatives. “By the end of the second semester we had more than 40 and it became clear that there was a demonstrable need and demand for expansion.”
Expansion became possible after HCC received a $600,000 grant from the Davis Foundation in December 2023.
The new center occupies the space where HCC’s culinary arts program resided before it moved into the HCC MGM Culinary Arts Institute in downtown Holyoke.
The space required extensive and lengthy renovations and improvements. The new Itsy Bitsy Child Watch Center is double the size of the original center, which was located on the first floor of the Marieb Building, and will nearly double the capacity of children served at any given time, from 10 to 19.
The new center has two full classrooms instead of one, a dedicated children’s bathroom, an office, an adjoining gym/gross motor room, and an expanded kitchenette with a full-size refrigerator and dishwasher.
The relocation also puts the Itsy Bitsy Child Watch Center at the same end of the second floor hallway as the HCC Parent Learning Center (a study lounge and play area for parents and their children), and the Marieb Adult Learner Success Center, a support program for student parents and students 24 and older.
“This investment will enable our early childhood team to provide high-quality early learning experiences for more children,” said President George Timmons. “The remodeled space will provide the youngest members of our campus community with ample opportunities to explore, play, and learn. Dozens more HCC student parents will be able attend classes and access campus-based student resources without having to worry about child care.”
PHOTO: The Itsy Bitsy Child Watch Center in its new location
