Augusta center for special-need kids gets further $250K gift to help fund expansion
Rendering WBRC Architects-Engineers / Courtesy The Children's Center
The nonprofit Children's Center, an early childhood intervention and family support services organization for children with special needs, is embarking on an expansion of its Augusta facility that will add 14,000 square feet and renovate 5,000 square feet of existing space.
The Children’s Center, an early childhood intervention and family support services organization for children with special needs, is more than halfway towards its $5 million goal of raising funds to expand its Augusta facility.
The company reported the milestone on Thursday, along with a $250,000 donation from Peter and Sandra Prescott, owners of a EJP Solutions, a Gardiner-based provider of water, wastewater and stormwater products.
The latest donation comes a month after a $1 million gift from Charlie and Nancy Shuman, of Charlie's Motor Mall and Charlie's Family of Dealerships in Augusta. The Prescotts said they made their gift in part to help more families in central Maine access vital services for their children.
“Giving back to our community and lending a hand when it’s needed is an essential part of the culture of EJP,” Peter Prescott said in a news release. "We have seen the effects of the work done at the Children’s Center, and it is critical for kids with special needs. Knowing that there is a waiting list of about 100 kids just in the Greater Augusta Area is heartbreaking. We know we can help eliminate that waiting list by helping to fund this expansion, and that’s exactly what we’re going to do.”
Noting that the Children's Center literally changes lives, Sandra Prescott added: "Making these kids a priority says a lot about who we are as a community and I believe we’re the kind of community these children deserve.”
Jeff Johnson, executive director of the Children's Center, said the area is lucky to have the Prescotts as advocates and supporters.
“We are all very thankful for the gift from the Prescott family, although I can’t say we are surprised,” he noted. “During his more than six decades at EJP, Peter Prescott has consistently gone above and beyond to help this community he loves so dearly. His passion for Gardiner and Central Maine comes through not just in his words, but in his actions and how he works every day. "
The plan is to break ground on the planned expansion this year, adding around 14,000 square feet to the current facility while renovating 5,000 square feet of existing space.
Project collaborators include Bangor-based WBRC Architects-Engineers and Lajoie Bros. Inc., an Augusta-based construction company that built the Rusty Lantern and a building for Cushnoc Brewing Co. in Augusta in 2019.
The center serves more than 250 children, at locations in Augusta, Farmington, Skowhegan and Waterville every year, all of which have waiting lists. Augusta's is the longest, with nearly 100 children in need of center-based or outpatient services there at any given time.
Children's Center has served the Augusta area since 1967 as Mid-State Cerebral Palsy Inc. After several moves, the doors to the current building opened in 1978.
The building, located on the corner of Alden Avenue and Worcester Street in Augusta, was expanded in 2001, increasing its capacity to 60 children.
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