FORT EUSTIS, Va. –
Since joint basing additional facilities at Fort Eustis were added to meet the needs of a growing military community. This growth also included a need or a larger child care facility.
So after 21months of construction Fort Eustis can now occupy its $9.6 million child care facility located at 1140 Pershing Avenue.
"The post was growing and we had a lengthy waiting list for infants, toddlers and pre-schoolers," said Kate Johnson, Pershing Child Development Center director " When military families made Permanent Change of Station moves to Fort Eustis they would have to wait at least a year or even longer to enroll their children. So I'm so excited that we finally got it up and running."
The state of the art 26,303-square-foot center houses up to 232 children, ages 6 weeks to 5 years old. It also features indoor and outdoor activity areas, a commercial kitchen, laundry, storage and supply rooms, fire protection and alarm systems and administrative offices.
According to Johnson, they were very fortunately when Fort Monroe closed last year because they didn't have to go through the challenges of hiring a new staff.
"This was a great opportunity for the CDC providers from Fort Monroe. Many of them were transferred to Fort Eustis and that made things a lot easier for us. It's great to know that I have a well trained staff with years of experience who continue providing support for our military families," she said.
The Pershing CDC offers a safe, exciting and innovative environment in which children can learn, explore, develop and grow. Full time care hours of operation are from 5:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. Hourly care is open from 7:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. For more information, call 878-4723.