ELY- The Ely Area Community Foundation celebrated the opening of its 16,000-square-foot Community Hub last week, with free food and live music. Hundreds came to tour the new facility at 760 Miners Dr. on Wednesday, July 31, during the three-hour open house and ribbon-cutting event.
The Community Hub is the result of over a decade of effort by the EACF. The nonprofit originally aimed to build a community center or recreational facility for Ely, first looking near the Ely Public Schools campus and then near the Ely-Bloomenson Community Hospital. Despite those initial failures, EACF members persevered and they were able to show off the fruits of their persistence to the community during last week’s event.
With the help of the city of Ely, the EACF was able to purchase the former Minnesota Department of Revenue Building. Funding and support from the USDA and the United Way of Northeast Minnesota enabled EACF to complete needed renovations. The renamed and remodeled Community Hub is now home to a 40-student day care center, a gym, and two other Ely-based nonprofits, Northwoods Partners and Well Being Development.
Ribbon cutting
Jeff Sundell, the chair of the EACF Board of Directors, was the emcee for the opening of the Community Hub. Although the hub has four tenants, the opening of the Happy Days child care attracted most of the attention. Minnesota’s two senators and representatives from USDA Rural Development, and the United Way all highlighted the center’s role in relieving the area’s child care needs.
“Ely rose to the challenge, said U.S. Sen. Tina Smith in a video message, congratulating EACF on the opening of the day care facility.
Rachel Loeffler-Kemp, a member of U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar’s staff, read a short letter from the senator, who congratulated the organizers for their “hard work and determination to ensure members of your community have access to quality programs and services.”
Both Senators helped to secure U.S. Department of Agriculture funds for the renovation of the facility.
Angela Bokovoy, regional director of USDA Rural Development, also spoke about federal funding and childcare. “We are pleased to be a partner with the Community Hub development project by providing a $1.2 million congressionally directed spending grant. With the inclusion of the highly anticipated Happy Days Learning Center, the Community Hub development project marks a significant milestone in addressing the area’s childcare shortage.”
Erin Shay, from the United Way of Northeastern Minnesota noted that her organization had played a funding role as well, as addressing the childcare shortage is a major initiative of the nonprofit. “Never before have we been able to secure this level of funding at one time for one specific project. We are grateful to Sens. Smith and Klobuchar, for the support of local state and federal leaders, as well as our partners at the USDA for the opportunity to play a role in expanding childcare access across our region.”
In addition to introducing comments from dignitaries, Sundell thanked the other board officers of the EACF for their hard work in bringing the Community Hub project to fruition. He specifically mentioned vice chair Dave Marshall’s expertise with buildings and contractors, Kurt Soderberg’s “communication and organization skills beyond compare,” and Todd Heiman’s “problem-solving skills and financial knowledge.”
Open house
EACF pulled out all the stops for their open house. The nonprofit brought in Andy Messerschmidt and his band to provide live music for the event. The foundation also provided free food from three of Ely’s most popular food vendors: Paan’s Thai Cuisine food truck, the Wood Fired Pizza food truck, and baked goods from Brainstorm Bakery. The smoothie bar for EACF’s gym tenant, Functional Fitness, served up fruit and veggie smoothie samples.
Guests at the open house were able to tour the spaces for the four occupants at the Hub. Along with the smoothie bar, Functional Fitness had its exercise, yoga, and therapy equipment set up in the northeast corner of the building. Both Well Being Development and Northwoods Partners have new office space in the Community Hub.
Of course, the star of the Hub’s tenants is the Happy Days Learning Center. Moving into the Hub allowed Happy Days to expand the number of kids they can accommodate to 40. The childcare nonprofit has three large classrooms, each dedicated to a different age group from infants to pre-K.
Happy Days will share the Community Hub’s kitchen with other tenants. The childcare provider also has office space, storage space, a crib room for infants, and a fenced playground.
Ely Area Community Foundation
EACF is a 501(c)(3), nonprofit foundation committed to serving the citizens and visitors in the cities of Ely, Tower, Winton, and Babbitt and the townships of Morse, Eagles Nest, Embarrass, Breitung, Fall Lake, and surrounding communities. The EACF fosters the health and wellness of the area’s communities by providing, space for important community services and helping to fund vital nonprofit organizations.