Last week, the Carbon County Commission approved bond sales of $475,000 to construct a new building for the Children’s Justice Center-Family Support Center in the county. That may sound like plenty of money. But there are a lot of things the funds won’t provide for a new center. And the people who support the center are looking for ways to help raise money to fund the areas.
First of all, the money is just for the building, not the property.
Presently, the CJC leases the house the center is now in so that rent is all inclusive.
Right now, the county is in negotiations with the SITLA (state institutional trust lands) for some property near the existing and newly built Active Re-Entry center on Fairgrounds Road.
Hopefully, the terms will be worked out so the CJC can be built at the site.
However, financial support for things like the landscaping, play areas for kids and furnishings for the building will have to come from somewhere else.
And hopefully, the community will respond like it did last year when the cry went out for help for the Dino-Mine Park.
Problem is that people don’t view the children’s center in the same way as they do a park for kids.
It seems most people view the CJC as a less important part of the community, something that not everyone can use or will ever need.
The CJC provides a place for some of the most vulnerable citizens in our community; children.
But the center is not just for children who have been abused or are in a dangerous situation.
The center is an aide to anyone who needs help with their children during a time of crisis or emergency.
Families with children younger than 11 years of age can use the center for respite care (taking a break), medical appointments, job hunting or family emergencies.
There is no cost for Castle Valley families to use the center and it is not an income based program.
The center is open seven days a week, 24 hours per day.
With the exception of Thanksgiving and Christmas day, the staff is available either at the center or on call.
On Saturday night, the children’s center will be hosting its annual “Harvest Ball” fundraising party at the Price Elks Club. The money that is generated from the event is used to operate the center each year.
The Harvest Ball is a great activity and the people who go to the event always have a good time.
On top of that, the event raises funding for a worthwhile cause.
We at the Sun Advocate see the CJC as an important part of the community. That is why the newspaper is doing a subscription drive to help support the event.
For everyone who signs up for a subscription and indicates that they want to earmark part of the subscription’s price to the CJC, the Sun Advocate will donate $5 to the cause.
Between the Helper swimming pool project and the Dino-Mine Park last year, the newspaper and subscribers were able to raise in the area of $3,500 because of a similar subscription drive.
Support for the new center will be a sign of how much the people of the local community care about the kids who live here.
We should all have the vision to see that the new facility has everything it needs to do its job correctly and for the center to be a place where children can have peace of mind while having fun at the same time.
So whether you donate by going to the ball, signing up for subscriptions or giving money to the center, please do so.
The children’s center is a part of our community that we need to take care of and take care of well.
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