 Coleen (yes, there is just one "l") Moore is about as enthusiastic
and positive a person as one would ever meet. Only on the job six
weeks, she is saying she can start to see the light at the end of
the tunnel and foresees the Christian Child Care facility growing.
Just a few months ago the center was burdened with stories of
financial problems as the possibility of closure made the rounds
throughout the community.Moore, currently a Springfield resident,
says she has landed her dream job. She says she has always been a
fan of the city of Lincoln, going back to the 1980s when she visited
on assignments for the Springfield Girl Scouts organization. She
says this is the community where she wants her two small children,
ages 7 and 8, to go to school and grow up. She also says that
although she is just 44 years old, this -- the Christian Child Care
center -- is where she wants to be until retirement age.
Such positive thoughts are uncommon for someone taking over the
helm of a child care facility that broke the news of a dire balance
sheet just a few months ago. "I was given the luxury of knowing we
had a long, difficult climb to get where we need to be. I like the
challenge," Moore said with a smile.
Moore, whose husband, Eric, works for the Illinois secretary of
state, finds Lincoln more like her childhood home of Carlinville
than Springfield is. It is this personal relationship that she
already has with the community that makes her believe she is where
she should be, where she is supposed to be.
A graduate of Blackburn College with a degree in speech
communications, Moore also is rapidly approaching enough credit
hours to earn a degree in early childhood.
She has had a taste of big-city life, working at a child care
facility in New York City for a few years before returning to
central Illinois. "If I never ride another subway in my life, that
will be just fine with me," Moore laughed.
Besides several posts in child care, she also was the "wish
maker" for the area's "Make a Wish Foundation," which she said was
both personally rewarding but also very sad. It is this well-rounded
education and experience with children that earned Moore the nod as
the facility's new director.
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Currently the center has 63 children ranging in ages from 6 months
to 12 years old. It is not lost on her that more families and their
children using the facility will help make the center financially
sound, and one of her goals is to show that the center is headed in
the right direction and that parents can confidently enroll their
children at Christian Child Care.
The always enthusiastic Moore said that one of her toughest jobs
was when she initially had to trim some staff to balance current
children in daily attendance. "Hopefully, as attendance rises I can
hire them back," she reflected.
Recent contributions from all over have given Moore a great deal
of hope. "We have received over $25,000 in contributions, and every
day the mail carries more blessings as we receive checks from all
over to help pay off our debt and improve our center," she said.
That is a key to growing the Christian Child Care Center, according
to Moore -- "paying off debt while judiciously using some funds to
make sure everything the children have is the best."
Moore is also very positive about her staff, calling them
"amazing," and wanted to point out that of the 12 current staff
members, all but two are teacher-qualified.
There is a great deal more work to be done by everyone associated
with the center, but Moore is optimistic that things will continue
to get better every day. After all, that is what dreams are made of,
and this is her dream job.
___
The
Christian Child Care
center is located at 721 Wyatt Ave. in Lincoln. The
phone number is 217- 732-5770.
[By MIKE FAK]
Past related article
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