Farmers Union Oil Company of Berthold and Cenex, the energy brand of CHS, awarded Kids Academy Daycare Center with a $25,000 Hometown Pride grant. Farmers Union Oil Company of Berthold nominated the Kids Academy Daycare Center for its dedication to providing working parents with access to childcare services. The center's services have helped make the local communities of Carpio and Berthold more sustainable places to live and raise a family.
The Kids Academy Daycare Center fills an essential gap in the Berthold community, providing safe supervision and hands-on learning for children.
"Our community has struggled to keep sufficient childcare, something we consider to be a basic necessity every community should have," says Seth Gravesen, treasurer and board member of the Kids Academy Daycare Center. "We are beyond appreciative to have the support of Farmers Union Oil Company of Berthold and the Cenex brand as we continue to maintain this service for our community."
The Kids Academy Daycare Center was founded in 2012 when all three of Berthold's local daycare centers closed and concerned citizens, business leaders and parents took action to fill the need for local childcare. Initially, the center began operations at the local church, until the group could fund its own space. Just one year after starting the nonprofit, a group of committed, determined parents and community members raised funds for the Kids Academy Daycare Center building and have been operating there ever since. The center currently provides childcare to approximately 30 children between the ages of 0 to 12.
With the next closest childcare center nearly 30 miles away, the Kids Academy Daycare Center keeps its community bonded by allowing parents to live and work comfortably in Berthold, knowing their children are safe and cared for during the day.
The Kids Academy Daycare Center doesn't just provide safe supervision. The center also prioritizes enrichment and education, offering interactive opportunities for children to learn, including growing lessons in the center's outdoor gardens. While at the center, children learn to plant, tend to their seedlings and see how they grow. With the Hometown Pride grant, the Kids Academy Daycare Center will be able to build a new awning to protect its outdoor gardens and ensure the success of its gardening lessons.
"We are very grateful for the essential resource the Kids Academy has given Berthold for the past 10 years," says Andy Fjeldahl, general manager of Farmers Union Oil Company of Berthold. "It is a good feeling to be able to contribute to a dire need within our community and to have a partner like Cenex who truly cares about giving back to our local towns."
To date, Cenex has invested over $475,000 into local organizations across its footprint since the Hometown Pride grant initiative was founded in 2019. Each grant is $25,000 and allows Cenex to uplift well-deserving philanthropic initiatives in local communities.
"We are proud to say that through our network of dealers, we are able to continuously make a meaningful impact within local communities," says Sarah Haugen, marketing communications director at CHS. "By investing in local organizations like the Kids Academy Daycare Center, the Cenex brand remains devoted to the Hometown Pride initiative and its mission of building, maintaining and preserving strong communities."
Categories: North Dakota, Education