Ben Wohlfert is an angel for the Child Care Center

NORTH CANAAN — When Ben Wohlfert was a kid growing up here, not that many years ago, the Canaan Child Care Center (CCCC) was simply a day care center. 

Now that he has friends with children who go there, he has seen just how much more it has become.

“I was very surprised by the things going on there now, and how much the kids get out of it,” he said. “I was also a little upset to see that the town doesn’t support them more. I really felt like I should give them a little bit of help.”

Wohlfert made a donation Nov. 21, during a visit to his Railroad Street real estate management office by child center pre-schoolers and their teachers. It was mostly about cookies and juice and the delightful reading of several Thanksgiving-related books by Ken Knoll, the center’s United Way liaison.

The United Way is a CCCC benefactor. People like Knoll, a Torrington CPA (who does a great Cookie Monster impression), make regular payroll deductions to the United Way, which in turn distributes them in local communities. It is a vital part of keeping child care affordable.

Under the leadership of Director Fran Chapell, CCCC staff and the board of directors have worked hard to establish National Association for the Education of Young Children accreditation and school readiness initiatives that bring in significant grant money.

It also means pre-schoolers are receiving an education focused not so much on proficiency in various subjects as in learning to be confident, well-mannered children whose minds have been primed for a rigorous school curriculum. 

The success is evident in situations such as last week’s book reading, when 11 three- and four-year-olds sat attentively and were engaged in the session. They even turned down an offer of cookies until after the last book was read. 

For Wohlfert, the interaction with well-behaved children is a bonus to the collaboration he is building with the center. He has donated to its programs, including the Dolly Parton Imagination Program, the Northwest Child Care Collaborative literacy and music program and the Back to School for Kids Campaign. 

He makes his storefront office windows available to local groups, including the CCCC, which is now planning monthly displays. Look for their artwork and model trains for the holidays. 

The next big step for CCCC is building a new center — one that will allow it the proper amount and configuration of space needed for its advanced programs. 

They have a 99-year, $1 lease on a town-owned acre of land across from North Canaan Elementary School. A Small Town Economic Assistance Program (STEAP) grant application has just been submitted. Berkshire Taconic Community Foundation has offered a $10,000 challenge grant; a matching donation means the center can raise their own $10,000.

That means fundraisers and donations from the community.

“We’re working on getting the word out,” Chapell said, “and Ben is really helping us with that. We hope he will inspire others to give in whatever way they can.”

That includes in-kind services once the building project gets underway. Wohlfert, whose background is in construction, plans to lend his expertise for the project.