Elected Officials, Business Leaders Celebrate Groundbreaking of New Child Care Center in Orange County
(Randolph, VT) – On Tuesday, June 10, elected officials, community members, and local business leaders gathered to celebrate the groundbreaking of the new Woodlands Campus child care center in Randolph. The new center, when complete, will offer 88 spaces for local children and will be run by the Orange County Parent Child Center, in tandem with their Meadowlands Campus in Tunbridge. The event was hosted by project organizers and funders, including the Green Mountain Economic Development Corporation, Orange County Parent Child Center, Let’s Grow Kids, and First Children’s Finance – VT.
Through a combination of new public investment from Vermont’s landmark child care law Act 76, federal HUD funding earmarked by former U.S. Senator Patrick Leahy, state grant funding, Northern Border Regional Commission Catalyst and Opportunity Fund programs, Randolph and Braintree municipal ARPA contributions, and community support, the Woodlands Campus is well on its way to opening its doors in 2026 to provide child care services for the Orange County community.
Tuesday’s event featured a speaking program highlighting the many partners that have made this project possible, the unveiling of a Woodlands Campus sign, and a tour of the construction site. During the speaking program, project leaders spoke about the importance of partnership and emphasized how much the new program will help meet the critical need for child care in the Randolph area. “Today we celebrate vision. We celebrate perseverance. We celebrate the partnerships and creativity that have gotten us here,” said Erika Hoffman-Kiess, Executive Director of the Green Mountain Economic Development Corporation. “Years in the making, the new Woodlands Campus manifests the best of Vermont – unexpected partnerships, practical application of creative thinking, and committed residents building the future for our state.”
Federal funding for the project included the final HUD grants earmarked by former Vermont Senator Patrick Leahy. “I was so proud to include funding in the FY23 Omnibus Appropriations bill directed to Let's Grow Kids to help fund the Woodlands Campus Child Care Center. But I’m even prouder of the work you’ve all done to make child care more accessible in Orange County. The work you’re doing is essential to working families, their children, and the economy of Vermont,” Leahy said in a letter read at the event.
Local Randolph Selectboard member and State Representative Larry Satcowitz spoke on behalf of the Selectboard and his colleagues in the Legislature: “Access to affordable, quality child care prepares our youngest children for success in school and beyond, allows parents to enter the workforce, and gives our economy a boost. This program, in particular, will bring relief to families in the Randolph area who have been struggling for too long to access local child care. Programs like this support thriving communities by making it more affordable for Vermonters to stay in our state and raise their families here. The Orange County Parent Child Center has been doing incredible work in our community for many years, and I’m thrilled to see them expand to the Woodlands Campus.”
Lindsey Trombley, Executive Director of the Orange County Parent Child Center, shared a story from one parent whose children attend the OCPCC’s Tunbridge center, who currently drives 100 miles each day to bring her children to child care. Trombley read the parent’s story during her remarks: “The upcoming Randolph location will be a game-changer for our family. With significantly reduced travel time, I will finally be able to return to the workforce, reclaiming the two hours each day I currently spend commuting,” the parent said. Trombley shared that this story is representative of many in the Orange County community.
Aly Richards, CEO of the child care advocacy organization Let’s Grow Kids, explained that the Woodlands Campus is just one example of progress happening statewide as a result of Act 76: “What makes me so excited is that this project isn’t the only groundbreaking we’re seeing in Vermont right now. Thanks to the movement of over 40,000 Vermonters that we have built together, our state made history by passing Act 76 in 2023, creating the long-term public investment that is now transforming our state’s child care system. And this legislative session, bolstered by the support of thousands of dedicated Vermonters, our lawmakers took intentional steps to protect and build on the significant progress we’re already seeing on the ground from Act 76. With support from across the political spectrum, they increased child care affordability and accessibility, which will bring relief to families and greater workforce stability to businesses.”
In the two years since Act 76 was passed, the new public investment has helped create over 1,000 new child care spaces, open over 100 new child care programs around the state, and expand child care tuition assistance eligibility, bringing down costs for over 3,000 Vermont children and their families.
The Woodlands Campus is scheduled to open its doors in early 2026.
