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Faith’s House Child Care Center At Saratoga Will Provide Backstretch Workers ‘Peace of Mind’

The Belmont Child Care Association, Inc. (BCCA) today offered a first look at Faith's House, the new child care center at Saratoga Race Course, which is set to begin serving families and children of the backstretch community in summer 2021.

Located on the Oklahoma side of the Saratoga backstretch, the 4,300-square-foot facility will provide child care and early education programs for infants, toddlers and preschool-aged children. The center will be open seven days a week from 5 a.m. to 5 p.m. to accommodate the schedules of backstretch workers and horsemen.

The building was funded by Michael and Lee Dubb and is named in honor of Faith Dubb, the late mother of BCCA founder and board chairman Michael Dubb.

“We are very excited to open the doors of Faith's House to the backstretch community this summer,” said Dubb, who is a prominent Thoroughbred owner in addition to his work with the BCCA. “This important program will provide the hardworking families of the Saratoga backstretch with the peace of mind that comes with knowing their children are being cared for in a fun and enriching environment with a focus on early education.”

Faith's House will feature dedicated rooms to serve infants, toddlers and preschool aged children. Upon entering the new child care center, visitors are greeted by an oversized black and white mural of a Thoroughbred racehorse.

The facility is designed to accommodate up to 35 children and includes numerous cribs for newborn infants. Two rooms within Faith's House are dedicated to serving preschool aged children with an array of educational resources, including books, dictionaries and writing and drawing materials.

A fenced-in play area is located outside the rear of the building with eco-friendly, rubber tiles and flooring to provide a safe and forgiving playground surface.

The Saratoga facility will complement BCCA's sister child care center Anna House, which serves families of the Belmont Park backstretch. More than 1,000 students have participated in Anna House's programs since its opening in 2003.

“On behalf of the New York Racing Association, I would like to thank Michael and Lee Dubb for their generosity and dedication to the backstretch community,” said NYRA President & CEO Dave O'Rourke. “We have been fortunate to witness the benefits of child care and early education through their initial vision of Anna House at Belmont Park and are indebted to Michael and Lee for funding and spearheading this companion facility at Saratoga Race Course. We are thrilled to welcome this beautiful new facility to Saratoga and extend our appreciation to the entire BCCA team and our own facilities staff for bringing this project to life.”

The summer 2021 opening coincides with the annual summer meet at Saratoga Race Course, which brings approximately 950 backstretch workers and their families to the Spa.

Faith's House will be operated by Bright Horizons, an organization known for excellence in the child care industry which manages early childhood education programs at more than 1,000 child care centers.

“On behalf of the BCCA Board of Directors, I would like to thank Mike and Lee Dubb for their incredible generosity in building Faith's House which fulfills a 10-year dream for the BCCA,” said BCCA President Libby Imperio.

Local officials shared their support and enthusiasm for the new child care center, which will open in July.

“I would like to congratulate the Belmont Child Care Association, along with Michael and Lee Dubb, on the opening of Faith's House,” said Assemblywoman Carrie Woerner (113th AD). “The backstretch workers who are integral to the sport of racing have long needed the child care services and support that will be provided by Faith's House so that their families can join them in Saratoga for the summer meet.”

“The past year has informed us more than ever of the importance of quality child care for working families in our community,” said City of Saratoga Springs Mayor Meg Kelly. “This new center will undoubtedly be an outstanding addition to Saratoga Race Course and to our city. We are thrilled to welcome Faith's House to Saratoga Springs and thank Michael and Lee, the BCCA and NYRA for making this project possible.”

For more information about Faith's House, including details on registration and enrollment, contact BCCA Executive Director Joanne K. Adams by phone at (516) 488-2103 or via email at jadams@belmontchildcare.org.

The Belmont Child Care Association works to provide a safe, supportive, and academically inspiring environment for the children of parents working in the thoroughbred racing backstretch area located at New York's historic Belmont Park, Aqueduct Racetrack and Saratoga Race Course. For more information, visit BelmontChildCare.org.

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Supporting families who support New York Thoroughbred Racing

by Michael Dubb.

Editor's note: The following letter appeared in the March 28, 2021 print editions of the Saratogian and Troy Record, and is reprinted here with their permission.

While the pandemic irrevocably changed each and every one of us, perhaps no one will be impacted more significantly in the long term than our children.
Mental health and education experts are just starting to reckon with the fallout of this unprecedented “lost year”, which resulted in remote learning and isolation from friends and extended family.

Most experts agree, however, that kids fell behind academically: some estimates say they possibly lost up to four months of learning. We also know that the pandemic has disproportionately impacted lower-income minority families by potentially pushing more people into poverty and exacerbating long-standing disparities in health care and education.

That's why it's more important than ever that we support and assist members of these vulnerable communities – especially children – so they can fully participate in and benefit from the post-COVID recovery effort.

Faith's House at Saratoga | BCCA

That is the goal behind Faith's House, a new childcare center that will serve families and children of Saratoga Race Course's backstretch community. Scheduled to open this summer, the 4,300-square-foot facility will offer childcare and early education programs for 35 to 40 infants, toddlers and preschoolers.

Faith's House will serve as a compliment to Anna House, which has been providing similar services to the backstretch families at Belmont Park on Long Island for the past two decades.

As chair of the nonprofit Belmont Child Care Association (BCCA) alongside our president, Libby Imperio; our executive director, Joanne Adams; and our great Board of Directors; it has been our honor and privilege to facilitate quality early education opportunities for the children of the backstretch community, whose members are the heart and soul of horse racing and without whom the industry would – quite literally – not be able to run.

More than 1,000 children have participated in Anna House's programs since its opening in 2003. Many of the parents of these children are first-generation immigrants who are doing exactly what my immigrant grandparents did: Working very hard to create a better life for themselves and their families.

Anna House helps support those efforts by providing these children with an educational foundation that sets them up for a lifetime of success. Soon Faith's House will do the same.

Numerous studies have underscored the importance and benefits of early childhood education programs – particularly when it comes to preventing or even minimizing school readiness gaps between low-income kids and those lucky enough to have more economic advantages. In addition, children who participate in the kinds of programs offered at Anna House – and soon at Faith's House as well – are typically at the top of their class when they start public school and are also more likely to graduate from high school, and less likely to struggle with substance abuse.

The backstretch community is a tight-knit ecosystem supported not only by BCCA but a host of other nonprofit organizations and individuals who work to make sure that the men and women of thoroughbred racing and their families have the services they need to succeed. Our collective resolve has been sorely tested over the past year by the many challenges imposed by the pandemic. But together we pulled through, putting programs and protocols in place that enabled racing to safely resume – albeit without fans in the stands – and protected the thousands of good-paying jobs in and around the racing industry statewide.

Thoroughbred racing contributes $3 billion in economic impact annually to the state – more than $200 million of which is generated in the Saratoga Springs region in connection with the historic Saratoga Race Course. This year, the opening of Faith's House will coincide with the annual summer meet in the Spa City.

This will be the culmination of a decade of hard work by BCCA and its allies and supporters, and I look forward to watching Faith's House help backstretch families fulfill their dreams while playing a key role in New York's economic recovery effort.

Michael Dubb is a builder and thoroughbred owner who chairs the Belmont Child Care Association (BCCA) sits on the NYRA Board. He built and donated both Anna House and Faith House.

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Faith’s House: New Childcare Center Opening At Saratoga In Summer 2021

The Belmont Child Care Association, Inc. (BCCA) today announced that its new childcare center serving families and children of the backstretch community at Saratoga Race Course is scheduled to open in summer 2021.

The 4,300-square-foot childcare center will be located on the Oklahoma side of the Saratoga backstretch. Funded by Michael and Lee Dubb, the facility will be named Faith's House in honor of Faith Dubb, mother of BCCA founder and board chairman Michael Dubb.

Faith's House will provide child care and early education programs for infants, toddlers and preschool-aged children. The center will be open seven days a week from 5 a.m. to 5 p.m. to accommodate the schedules of backstretch workers and horsemen.

“All working parents deserve to know that their children are being cared for in a safe, healthy and enriching environment during the workday,” said Dubb, who is a prominent thoroughbred owner in addition to his work with the BCCA. “We are thrilled to extend this important program to the hardworking families of the Saratoga backstretch community, who provide a vital service to the racing community.”

The Saratoga facility will complement BCCA's sister childcare center Anna House, which serves families of the Belmont Park backstretch. More than 1,000 students have participated in Anna House's programs since its opening in 2003.

“Faith's House fulfills a dream that the BCCA has been working on for over ten years. We are so excited to bring a winning formula in child care to Saratoga,” said Libby Imperio, BCCA President.

The anticipated summer 2021 opening coincides with the annual summer meet at Saratoga Race Course, which brings approximately 950 backstretch workers and their families to the Spa. The opening of the new center is contingent upon licensing approval from New York State and the New York State Office of Children and Family Services.

“The backstretch community is the foundation of the racing industry,” said New York Racing Association, Inc. (NYRA) President and CEO Dave O'Rourke. “All of us at NYRA extend our sincere gratitude to Michael and Lee, and the entire BCCA staff for their continued dedication and commitment to increasing access to affordable and reliable childcare for families on the backstretch. I would also like to thank our facilities team for their work on this project. NYRA is proud to host this new center of childhood education.”

More information about Faith's House, including details on registration and enrollment, will be announced in the coming months. Individuals interested in further details may contact BCCA Executive Director Joanne K. Adams by phone at (516) 488-2103 or via email at jadams@belmontchildcare.org.

The post Faith’s House: New Childcare Center Opening At Saratoga In Summer 2021 appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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New Childcare Center Serving Saratoga Backstretch Community to Open Summer 2021

A new childcare center serving families and children of the backstretch community at Saratoga Race Course is scheduled to open in summer 2021, the Belmont Child Care Association, Inc. (BCCA) has announced.

“All working parents deserve to know that their children are being cared for in a safe, healthy and enriching environment during the workday,” said Dubb, who is a prominent Thoroughbred owner in addition to his work with the BCCA. “We are thrilled to extend this important program to the hardworking families of the Saratoga backstretch community, who provide a vital service to the racing community.”

The Saratoga facility will complement BCCA's sister childcare center Anna House, which serves families of the Belmont Park backstretch. More than 1,000 students have participated in Anna House's programs since its opening in 2003.

“Faith's House fulfills a dream that the BCCA has been working on for over 10 years. We are so excited to bring a winning formula in child care to Saratoga,” said Libby Imperio, BCCA President.

The anticipated summer 2021 opening coincides with the annual summer meet at Saratoga Race Course, which brings approximately 950 backstretch workers and their families to the Spa.

The post New Childcare Center Serving Saratoga Backstretch Community to Open Summer 2021 appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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