CPPI and Gainesville’s Southwest Advocacy Group Celebrate CHILD Center Opening
Gainesville, Fla. – Southwest Gainesville’s new CHILD Center, led by Gainesville’s Southwest Advocacy Group (SWAG) and constructed by CPPI, will officially open its doors in a ribbon cutting ceremony on Thursday, June 7th at 8:30am.
The CHILD Center, or Children’s Health, Imagination, Learning, and Development Center will provide state-of-the-art early care and education experiences for children and families of Alachua County, as well as serving as a model demonstration center for early childhood professionals throughout the country.
The brand new, ground-up construction of over 5,000 square feet includes teaching spaces for children aged zero to five, a community room that will provide resources and programs for families, as well as outdoor play spaces and meal prep areas. The neighborhood setting will provide safe and convenient access for those it will serve, and its close proximity to other SWAG facilities ensures continuity of services.
CPPI Project Director Eric Drummond has been connected with the SWAG vision since 2012, when he helped to deliver the SWAG Family Resource Center and Playground. After its completion, he worked on the Southwest Health Clinic in 2015, and is now involved with the CHILD Center project.
“The Southwest Advocacy Group has been a force for positive change in the southwest Gainesville area since 2010, with a goal to connect families to services and resources to help better the entire community,” Eric said. “CPPI is excited to complete the newest addition to the neighborhood with the CHILD center. This project has provided yet another opportunity for CPPI to give back to the community that has given so much to our families over the 50 years we have been in business in Alachua County. We count it as a privilege and honor to be a small part of SWAG and its mission.”
On working with CPPI on this project, CHILD Center Board Chair Dorothy Thomas said, “Eric Drummond and the team at CPPI have been committed to this project and other projects in the SWAG neighborhoods. We are grateful to have them as partners, and are certain that we would not have been able to accomplish this without their resources, enthusiasm, and support.”
The grand opening celebration of the CHILD Center will begin with an 8:30 a.m. reception, followed by a the ribbon-cutting ceremony at 9 a.m., featuring speakers from the initiative’s founding partners: Dorothy Thomas, CHILD Center, chair; Joan Canton, CHILD Center vice-chair and SWAG founder; Dr. Patricia Snyder, director, Anita Zucker Center; Andy Sherrard, owner, O2B Kids; Natalie Strappy, executive director, Alachua County Public Schools Head Start; Jacki Hodges, CEO, Early Learning Coalition of Alachua County; and Lee Pinkoson, chair, Board of Alachua County Commissioners.
The CHILD Center is located at 820 SW 62nd Terrace in the SWAG neighborhoods of southwest Gainesville.
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Ranked one of Engineering News-Record’s 2017 “Top Contractors,” Charles Perry Partners, Inc. (CPPI) is one of the Southeast’s largest privately held construction firms. Recognized as a powerhouse of innovation, sustainability, craftsmanship, and expertise, CPPI performs a wide range of design-build, construction management and general contracting services, including project planning and modeling, budget estimating and cost management, project scheduling and construction.
Since 1968, CPPI has completed work for many industries, but specializes in the healthcare, education, and commercial sectors. For more information, please visit CPPI’s website at www.cppi.com, follow CPPI on Twitter @CPPI_News, or call 888-435-CPPI.