Hand In Hand Early Childhood Center Partnered with the Small Business Development Center on a Nearly $3 Million Dollar Grant to Expand Childcare Services in Lewis County
(left to right) are Onondaga SBDC Regional Director Robert Griffin, Jenniffer Bleakley of Hand In Hand Child Care Center, and New York State SBDC Director Sonya Smith.
The award presentation was Monday, July 29 at the new facility at the Harrisville Central School District.
Harrisville, NY – Hand In Hand Early Childhood Center was presented with the 2024 New York Rural Small Business of the Year award. Hand In Hand recently opened a new childcare facility in the Harrisville Central School District. Hand In Hand partnered with the Onondaga Small Business Development Center’s Watertown Outreach Center to obtain nearly $3 million dollars in funding from the Northern Border Regional Commission to expand childcare services in Lewis County.
While a March 2024 report titled The Status of Childcare in New York State showed that lack of access to affordable childcare is forcing New Yorkers out of the workforce, Hand In Hand Early Childhood Center is continuing to provide childcare solutions for North Country families. The new childcare center in the Harrisville School District serves 32 children in the northern part of Lewis County. This is in addition to Hand In Hand’s main location in Lowville which serves 96 children, and their facility in the South Lewis Central School District in the southern part of Lewis County which serves 32 children.
