God eftermiddag, välkomna to The Barn! That is a messy way to say “Good Afternoon, welcome to The Barn”… in Swedish. “Barn” is the Swedish word for child, so The Barn is like saying The Child, plus it looks like a barn, and we are on a farm.

If you couldn’t tell, I’m a little bit Swedish. My husband is a lot Swedish. But, that’s not the reason why we chose a Swedish word for this center for children. We chose it because the Scandinavian countries, especially Denmark, lead the world in early childhood development. When designing this building and our philosophy, we took some ideas from their playbook, emphasizing free play, exploration, and a LOT of outdoor time.

The child has been at the center of Step By Step’s work for almost 30 years. Since 1997, Step By Step has been working toward healthy birth outcomes and a baby’s first year of life by providing a lot of support and guidance for mothers. Farm 12, alongside our Dreams Work program, was created to equip mothers with the skills and support needed to excel in their areas of aptitude by teaching job and life skills, providing scholarships for furthering education, and opening doors of opportunity with employers or to pursue entrepreneurship.

A decade or more ago, when we were dreaming about what Farm 12 would be, building a childcare facility wasn’t in my original plans. OF COURSE, I knew it was important for all working families with young children, but I thought we would partner with existing childcare facilities in our community. However, walking the childcare journey with our employees has been heartbreaking. I started looking into the stats:

·      For every 10 babies, 8 toddlers, and 4 preschoolers, there is only 1 slot available…and these stats are worse for low-income families.

·      66% of children under 6 have all available parents in the workforce

·      In WA State- a family with at least 1 child under 6 earning 25% of median household income pays 72% of their income in childcare for every enrolled child.

Not long after Farm 12 Restaurant opened, our assistant manager came to me and asked for a demotion and a pay decrease. She told me she was now making too much money to receive state childcare assistance and yet she could not afford to pay the full tuition. There was no in-between. This request went against everything I stand for, and it’s why we built this social enterprise. Going backwards was not an option for me. The anguish I observed with this employee as she weighed her options of how to care for her babies while she was at work left a huge mark on me. I decided Step By Step would pay the difference to her childcare facility until her youngest went to kindergarten.

She is not unique in her struggle, so many mothers face this same anguish. So I decided to build it…to build a childcare center and to build one as big as I could, given the limitations of our site.

Three and a half years ago, Step By Step embarked on a $14 million capital campaign to build it. Janel, Step By Step’s Director of Development, and I have grinded for 3.5 years to raise the funds to make this a reality. It has been a journey full of emotions - so many peaks and so many valleys to get here. Inside you will see a list of all the donors who have made this possible. Every dollar given to this project has been so meaningful and heartfelt. And so appreciated!

Most people give to something because they resonate with the problem a project is trying to solve. Maybe they were a single parent and had to find a way to work and care for their child while they were away. Some have been in the early learning field and feel a tug. Some have children who are raising children and they know the struggle.

We have an anonymous donor who has given tremendous donations to Step By Step over many years and to this project… a big part of the motivation is because the wife loved this tulip farm and loves even more that it now impacts the futures of women and children.

The Korum Family and Korum for Kids Foundation have given in Germaine Korum’s honor because Germaine loved children and cared a lot about education for children and support for mothers. Our site is named in honor of her.

One man has given significant funds to this project in honor of his mother who recently passed away. His mom grew up on a farm in this valley, was raised by her grandmother, and spent her life committed to children and education. This building will be named Lis’ Barn in honor of her and her son’s contributions to this project.

And there are so many stories like this, but I want to close by reading a portion of a letter I received on Sunday.

“Dear Krista,

 Every time I visit your site, I come away more impressed with the physical quality of what has been and is being built and the enthusiasm of everyone to get things done. As to honoring my parents, they were not superheroes, they were my window into the world at a young age. They were in essence my guides to life, much as I would expect the teachers will be for the early learning students: helping them explore their surroundings along with their peer group. I see the natural environment as being the classroom, the experiences being the real teachers and the teachers as the guides to help them explore and pull it all together… kind of how I remember my early years. Learning how to explore and think and not what to think.

So many kids probably don’t have the advantages I had, but hopefully The Barn and The Grove will help fill some gaps! This week I will be donating the additional $1M we discussed! Thank you for the opportunity to be involved in such an exciting and impactful project.”

I love how this donor articulated his reason for giving. I love how he admires and looks up to his parents. I appreciate how he understands what we are trying to do with The Barn and The Grove (our outdoor nature-based school).

This donor’s $1M check arrived on Wednesday, on top of this donors $1.2 million dollar pledge! Amazing!

Janel, would you come up here! Janel is our director of development and together we have worked for 3.5 years to raise the funds needed. And today, I can officially announce that we have completed the capital campaign thanks to so many generous people!!

There are many people/groups I could thank, but I’m going to mention just a few by name: When I say your name would you come up front for the cutting of the Ribbon?

Jeff Brown has been the architect for all three projects, the Farm 12 Restaurant and Event building, Fika, and The Barn. He cares so much and has poured his whole self into the design of each building.

Mountain Construction has been the contractor for each of the three projects and has been a delight to work with. Jeremy has been the project manager for all three projects. Kelly is the superintendent on this project.

A list of all subs for this project can be found inside. I’d especially like to thank in-kind donors Sessler Inc for donating all the sheet rock, SS landscape, Walrath Trucking for donating and delivering all the rock needed for this project - truckloads upon truckloads, Emerald Fire, Bargreen Ellingson, Insulation Northwest, Matt Reinhart who has donated countless hours making sure we have the security and technology we need, and Mark The Pond Guy.

I’d like to thank the Department of Commerce for $4.3 million is grant funding for The Barn through the Early Learning Fund and through the Building Communities Fund. Many of these dollars were petitioned for by the legislators from the 25thdistrict: Senator Chris Gildon, Representative Cyndy Jacobson, and former state Rep Kelly Chambers. Since we are in legislative session, none of them could be here today. Additionally, former Pierce County Councilmember Hans Zeiger petitioned for Pierce County dollars to help buy the land across the street for The Grove. Two Pierce County Councilmembers who have also been huge advocates for Step By Step are here today: Council member Herrera and Morell. Thank you both!

I’d like to thank the city of Puyallup staff for working with us over a decade on all three projects. We’ve definitely had our moments, but you all have come to the table, and we always found a way through. Thank you! Steve Kirkelie would you please come up here. Steve is the City Manager for Puyallup, but when I first met him over a decade ago, he was the city’s attorney. He has walked with us through all of this, and I appreciate him so much!

As the first large donor to this project, before we even bought the land, and has faithfully supported us for more than a decade, would Jerry Korum and Sophia Hall come up.

To the Step By Step staff, you all are amazing and I appreciate all the ways you have stood in the gap when I couldn’t and for the tremendous trust I have in each of you to carry forward the mission of Step By Step. To the Farm 12, Fika, and The Grove employees…you are the people who make this place magical. Thank you!

To Step By Step’s board of directors. I know I’ve kept many of them awake at night with my ambitious ideas and yet they continue to provide Step By Step with sound guidance and support even though they may be holding their breath.

I’d like to ask my husband to come up. Without him, none of this would be here. He has been my sounding board for the last 33 years we’ve been married; we are the parents of 7 daughters…I never could have done this without his tremendous support and sacrifice. If my daughters who are here would come up. I want to thank them for being so gracious with a mom who has a lot of ambitions but being their mom has been the greatest joy of my life. They too have had to give some things up lot for all this to happen!

I would have called more of you up, but I want to make room for the one who means the most in all of this. The WHY behind all this…the child!

Before I call some of our Grove kiddos up to the front, I have one more naming dedication I would like to share with you.

The mom that I spoke of at the beginning of this presentation…the one who asked for demotion and a pay cut…her name is Rachel Hamilton. You many know her as the assistant manager at Farm 12 Restaurant since we opened six years ago. She was a Step By Step mom turned Farm 12 celebrity. Her childcare journey was what inspired me to build this. Her children won’t benefit from it, but many other children will because of them. So, we are naming the two nooks in the hallway after Rachel’s two daughters, Beverlyann and Blossom. Rachel, would you come up with your girls and cut the ribbon?