Summerside convent hopes for Islanders' generosity to help expand its daycare spaces
CBC
The Sisters of the Sacred Heart are hoping Prince Edward Islanders will dig deep as they look to expand a daycare centre.
The convent on Granville Street in Summerside, currently has 13 children with another 30 on its waiting list. That number doesn't include parents who have directly approached them looking for a spot for their child.
“It breaks my heart to have to say that we don't have the space," said Sister Margherita Ianni. "You see the need that they have, and you can't meet that need.”
The building currently has two rooms for child care. The sisterhood wants to add another two rooms, along with a playroom and an elevator.
Ianni said the hope is to expand to accommodate up to 50 kids — but it will all come at a cost of around $2 million.
Requests for help in raising the money have been going through the community by word of mouth and social media.
“Whether we have the money or not, we're going to begin this spring and we put our trust in the Lord that He will send donations to us through generous people who are willing to help us in this work,” Ianni said.
“Right now, donations are coming in through people who really don't have much to give. So we hope that the Lord will open the hearts of those who have to share a little of what they have.”
Peter Brown of Bayside Builders said planning for the possibility of a daycare expansion at the convent began about three years ago.
He’s done previous work on the building, including installing egress windows in the basement common room last year.
A father of five and grandfather of 19, Brown said children “are a big part of my DNA.”
“We can't have families coming to P.E.I. if we don't have housing, and you can't have people staying and working if we don't have daycare," he said.
"So a lot of this just all ties into the organic growth of families and faith in P.E.I.”
Ianni noted that the Island has seen an influx of immigration from the Philippines since 2018, and that many of the newcomers have settled in Summerside.
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