Kyle Roed’s path to being part of the child care solution started with his personal experience, when he and his wife were put on waitlists even though she was only a few weeks pregnant with their first child. As a human resources professional, Kyle knew his experience wasn’t unique. He looked at his own company and identified significant turnover in primarily female new hires due to lost daycare or lack of its financial feasibility, even while employed. The losses cost his employer at the time $20,000 a month. 

This is where a community mission to add more affordable and available child care was born and where Cedar Valley Kids Child Care began. To help fill a gap of over 2,000 needed child care spots in the Cedar Valley, Cedar Valley Kids plans to open three child care centers, offering a model that engages committed employers who then offer daycare as an employee benefit. Cedar Valley Kids centers will provide accredited child care to employee families and maintain open slots for families living near the centers.  

As Cedar Valley Kids launched its capital campaign to break ground on its first site at North Crossing in Waterloo, a $100,000 grant from the Community Foundation of Northeast Iowa helped the organization take its first step in investing in children and the community.