A $250,000 donation from Affinity Credit Union is helping Hope’s Home reach its $8 million capital campaign goal for a medically inclusive childcare center in Saskatoon.

Affinity Credit Union CEO, Mark Lane, says they have partnered with Hope’s Home since its inception because filling that gap with childcare that includes the ability to care for those with complex medical needs is what supporting local is all about.  Hope’s Home has the only medically inclusive childcare centers in Canada. Right now, there are three in Regina and one each in Prince Albert and Warman.

Found and CEO, Jacqueline Tisher, says a number of children with complex medical needs and their families live in Saskatoon and area because of the access to Jim Pattison Children’s Hospital and its specialists, so there is a great need, and the wait list is significant. The service will be for children with complex medical needs but, Tisher emphasizes it’s also inclusive, so siblings are welcomed and other children when there is space. Affinity Credit Union’s donation will fund an indoor gym, which will be a space for all the kids to play together, ensuring every child feels included.

The new location at a former bowling alley on Fairmont Drive will feature two separate centres caring for 144 kids in total from six weeks to six years old.
It’s expected to open next year. There will be nursing care, early childhood educators, development workers, and physical development consultants on site.  Click here to donate to the capital campaign.