Smart Start Resource Center reopens

Jul 11, 2009, The Enquirer-Journal

MONROE -- The Thomas H. Batchelor Smart Start Resource Center had a grand reopening Friday at its new location, 604 Lancaster Ave.

The center had been housed on the South Piedmont Community College campus, but the college needed the space for its expanding programs. The center closed on May 22 to move the more than 7,000 library materials to town.

Moving the center was a major endeavor, as staff and volunteers discovered. Workers formed a "bucket brigade" to pass items from the old facility into vehicles for hauling to the old Farm Credit building. Once inside, staff sorted, repackaged and relabeled the items.

"It was a major endeavor," center director Carilyn Raymond said. "Or should I say, "challenge.'"

The new center is more centrally located for the entire county. "The new location makes the lending library more accessible to parents, grandparents and teachers," Raymond said. The new site also offers more parking.

The center is a lending library of more than 7,000 books, play items, art utensils and more, all designed for children from birth to age 5. Last year, the center had more than 2,500 visits, and more than 27,000 items were checked out.

It is funded by Union Smart Start, a nonprofit organization dedicated to having all children healthy and prepared for success when entering kindergarten. For information about other Smart Start programs, call 704-226-1407 or go to www.UnionSmartStart.org.


? 2009 by The Enquirer Journal. All rights reserved.