In a ceremonial gesture today, Riverland Community College President Adenuga Atewologun accepted the keys from The Hormel Foundation to the newly renovated community Early Childhood Education Center. The facility valued at more than $3 million was recently completed at Riverland’s Austin campus.

Now operating as Apple Lane Child Care Center with a current enrollment of 220 children ages six weeks through 12 years old, this capital project addresses the community’s need for affordable child care, cited as one of the top 10 needs in United Way survey results.

In an unprecedented local partnership between the private and public sectors, The Hormel Foundation helped secure more than $3 million in funding to convert 17,000 sq. ft. in Riverland’s West Building into an Early Childhood Education Center with a capacity to annually serve approximately 300-plus children ages six weeks through 12. An additional 3,000 sq. ft. of landscaping and parking improvements was also part of the project. Apple Lane has been selected to manage the daily operations of the child care facility.

“Apple Lane anticipates adding an additional 30 children for fall session and continues to customize schedules to meet the needs of families,” said Shannon Hart, Apple Lane’s executive director. “Apple Lane offers education in areas of nutrition and age appropriate creative curriculums in each of the classrooms. Apple Lane staff is dedicated and educated in the areas of early childhood and development and are very passionate about the work they do.”

The vision for the Early Childhood Education Center is that every child in Austin would have access to affordable child care with the goal that when these children enter kindergarten, they will have acquired the necessary academic, language, and social skills for success in the school system. The need for such a facility in Austin is what attracted The Hormel Foundation. Former Riverland President Terry Leas offered space in Riverland’s West Building.

Riverland has been in the process of finding ways to reduce its surplus facility space. The Early Childhood Education Center provided a major enhancement to the aging infrastructure that once housed the Ag Diesel program. Although the building still belongs to Riverland, The Apple Lane Child Care Center has its own public entrance, and as the operator Apple Lane will be responsible for its own operational and maintenance costs. In fact, thanks to local contributors, basic daily business operating expenses are the only costs passed onto Apple Lane.

“This has truly been a community project,” said Jerry Anfinson, Treasurer of The Hormel Foundation. “The funds were raised locally and almost all of the work necessary to create the Early Childhood Education Center has been completed by local contractors successfully led by The Joseph Company.”

“When we started this project one of our goals was to try to keep all the construction and services local,” said Gary Ray, Chair of The Hormel Foundation board. “We are extremely happy that we were able to do that.”

Anfinson and Ray also praised the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities (MnSCU) for their role in this unique partnership as well as Judy Enright, Riverland’s physical plant manager, for managing the entire project from beginning to end.

For Riverland, the Early Childhood Education Center on the Austin campus not only benefits Riverland’s student and employee parents with young children, but also offers valuable learning opportunities for students enrolled in Riverland’s Human Services, Nursing, Law Enforcement programs as well as the vision and possibilities to develop new associate and bachelor degree programs with MnSCU sister organizations.

“The educational returns for Riverland’s students in related programs, and the benefits for the entire community’s children as they begin their educational journey in lifelong learning are limitless,” said Dr. Adenuga Atewologun, Riverland president. “This beautiful new facility is an example of how Riverland can work with external partners to meet the needs of the community in important ways.”

Atewologun also thanked the work his predecessors Dr. Terry Leas and Dr. Kent Hanson provided to the project. “Austin and Riverland are indebted to the vision of Dr. Leas and the fine work Dr. Hanson did to continue that vision while they served as presidents for Riverland. They both helped to make this project a reality,” Atewologun said. Hanson was the interim college president for the 2012-2013 academic year.

The list of key contributors included The Hormel Foundation at $2 million and the Hormel Foods Corporation Charitable Trust at $1 million. Mayo Clinic Health Systems in Austin donated $50,000, the Development Corporation of Austin, $25,000 and Hirsh Foundation, $10,000.

Atewologun praised the extraordinary cooperation and support this project has enjoyed from these private partners as well as the MnSCU Board of Trustees and system office, the attorney general’s office. “This exceptional private-public partnership meets an identified community need, enhances the college facility, upgrades learning opportunities for Riverland students in programs that work with young children as part of the respective curriculum, and familiarizes young children and their parents to the college.”

Planning has begun for a public open house to tour the new Apple Lane Child Care Center in October.

The Hormel Foundation, a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization, was established in 1941 by Hormel Food Corporation founder George A. Hormel and his son, Jay C. Hormel. Contributions from The Hormel Foundation directly benefit the Austin, Minnesota area. The Hormel Foundation was recognized in 1980 as a supporting organization under the I.R.C. Section 509(a)(3). As a supporting organization it is organized and operated for the benefit of those charitable or educational organizations represented on its board.

Riverland Community College, a member of the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities system, is a regional comprehensive community college inspiring learning for living through a personalized educational environment. Approximately 4,900 students are served annually through a wide range of credit-based educational opportunities. An additional 5,400 students are annually served in non-credit courses. Facilities are located in Albert Lea, Austin, and Owatonna, Minn. Riverland may be found on the Internet at www.riverland.edu.

The Minnesota State Colleges and Universities (MnSCU) system includes 24 two-year community and technical colleges and seven state universities. It is the fifth largest higher education system of its kind in the United States.