Chelan Fresh and partner companies donate $110,000 to fund childcare center

Northwest produce firms Chelan Fresh, Gebbers Farms and Apple House Warehouse & Storage Inc. are helping support families in Pateros, Wash., where childcare is in short supply.

In an April 15 check presentation ceremony, the companies donated $110,000 to the Pateros Treehouse Early Education Organization, according to a news release. 

The ceremony was held at the Church of Christ building at 128 Independence St. in Pateros, and the donated funds will help purchase and renovate the site to be used as a childcare and learning center, according to the release.

The companies learned of Pateros Treehouse's need for funds after Kailee Tanneberg, the organization's president, sent a letter to potential donors April 6 explaining its need to raise $110,000 in matching contributions by April 15; otherwise, it would lose funds from a Washington Department of Commerce Early Learning Facilities grant and efforts for a childcare center in Pateros would likely be at an end, according to the release.

“Chelan Fresh is proud to support the Pateros Treehouse project,” Tom Riggan, CEO of Chelan Fresh, said in the release. 

“This project helps meet the basic need for childcare, which is fundamental to the health and sustainability of rural communities.”

The companies together donated the necessary amount to meet the grant requirement, accoding to the release, securing the project's future.

“I couldn’t believe it,” Tanneberg said in the release. “I was just hoping for any donation, no matter how small. Not in my wildest dreams did I think it would equal the entire amount needed by April 15.”

There is a chronic childcare shortage in much of central Washington, according to the release, a condition exacerbated by the pandemic. For more details or to find out how to support Pateros Treehouse, visit Chelan Fresh's website.