Otago Community Trust was pleased to award a $51,071 grant to assist with the cost of establishing a kindergarten and family hub in the small South Otago town of Clinton.

The Poupoutunoa Kindergarten opened its doors in Clinton on the site of the town’s former bowling club at the start of the fourth term in 2020. However, its official opening ceremony was held late last week to acknowledge all the community support that made the project a success.

The $800,000 project to transform the bowling club facilities into an early childhood learning centre was overseen by South Otago Kindergarten Association senior teacher Gill Crawford and office manager Alethea Solomon.

Otago Community Trust grants manager Sue Stewart attended the opening last Friday and highlighted how proud the small rural community is of the new centre. 

"It was wonderful to see first hand how much this new early childhood learning centre means to the Clinton community. Kindergartens are special places where children, teachers and families/whānau come together to build strong communities and lasting friendships." 

Otago Community Trust was pleased to have helped make these invaluable community connections possible" said Ms Stewart. 

The Poupoutunoa Kindergarten and family hub now provides support to families and access to social services, enables engagement with families/children promoting their health and well being.  The new centre hosts public health visits, vision testing and Oranga Tamariki / supervised visits. These services support, guide and work alongside families to ensure that all children get the best start possible.   

Mrs Crawford said opening a kindergarten in the small rural town was “pretty amazing”.

“Very small towns like Clinton don’t get the opportunity to have a brand new centre.”

The last census showed there were children in the area who were not attending a preschool facility.

“That’s why we were supported in being able to deliver such a great service to that community.”

The Ministry of Education provided $591,000 and other groups, including the Otago Community Trust, also helped.

"A huge THANK-YOU to The Otago Community Trust for their grant towards our Kindergartens outside learning environment! Without their generous support we would have never have been able to complete the area to such a high standard that our children & community deserve."