Winfield, KS — The Winfield Public Library and Arkansas City Public Library have each received a collection of 17 early childhood caregiver books made possible through the “Communities in Action: A Community Child Care Capacity-Building Project” grant awarded to Legacy Regional Community Foundation in January 2025.

This grant opportunity was designed to provide funding for Kansas communities working to address access to affordable, high-quality child care. Locally, the grant supported coalition-building efforts led by Legacy staff to establish and develop the Cowley County Early Childhood Collaborative (CCECC), a nonprofit organization dedicated to fostering public-private partnerships to optimize local resources, funding, and expertise to help area children and families thrive.  The grant also provided funding to engage Tabatha Rosproy to further the work started with Cowley ACTS – Childcare focus group toward establishing a childcare center in Cowley County.

The book donations to the Winfield and Arkansas City Public Libraries reflect the grant’s broader mission to support early childhood development and community engagement. Some titles of books added to the library collections included:

The basics of starting a child-care business: the business of childcare (2020) by Marnie Forestieri

The encyclopedia of infant and toddler activities: for children birth to 3 (2017) by Donnat Wittmer, PhD.

The playful classroom: the power of play for all ages (2020)  by Jed Dearybury and Julie Jones.

Each of the library directors noted the importance of grants in expanding library resources. Mendy Pfannensteil, Director of the Arkansas City Public Library, shared that the grant significantly expands the library’s offerings on this topic.  Tabitha Hogan of the Winfield Public Library added that collaboration between community organizations will help make the collection more visible.  Both libraries emphasized their shared goal of providing information related to community initiatives and supporting learning for child care providers, aligning with the broader objectives of the grant and the libraries.

“Funding provided by Child Care Aware of Kansas in partnership with the Kansas Children’s Cabinet and Trust Fund. We are dedicated to building quality child care in communities for Kansas families.”

For more information, please contact:
Tabitha Hogan, Winfield Public Library
Mendy Pfannenstiel, Arkansas City Public Library