Photo courtesy of Early Learning Center

The Greene County Early Learning Center recently received a sizable donation for its building project.

The McLaughlin Family Companies of Scranton donated $100,000 to the early learning center for the non-profit’s $2.1 million building project that will increase its building capacity by about 50-percent and allow for the center to serve 150 children. 

The donation was one of the first with the learning center’s “Growth Happens Here” campaign to raise the remaining 40-percent of funds to build a new facility that is adjacent to the existing structure on Madison Street in Jefferson. Several other financial commitments have been made, including a $250,000 pledge by the Greene County Board of Supervisors, a $500,000 grant by Grow Greene County Gaming Corporation, a $394,941 grant from the Iowa Department of Human Services and a $75,000 grant from a Future Ready Iowa initiative with the Child Care Challenge grant.