The Y Preschool in Towson unveiled its new Playground & Children’s Garden with a ribbon-cutting ceremony Thursday. The installation was supported in part by PNC Bank’s Grow Up Great initiative, which funds resources for young children and sees bank employees volunteering for children’s causes.
The area was designed to encourage hands-on, nature-focused play, with an aesthetic that incorporates rocks, flowers, trees and other natural materials. Students will also be able to grow flowers and pick fruits and vegetables from the nearby garden, including tomatoes, bell peppers and strawberries.
“The Y is the biggest provider of early childhood [education] in this region, so we’re mutually invested in the future of the youngest among us,” said John Hoey, president and CEO of The Y in Central Maryland, at the ceremony Thursday, July 17. “[The students] have a great experience inside the preschool building, and we want them to have a great experience when they come outside.”
In addition to serving as an update to the space where preschool-age students can take part in outdoor play, the new playground was also installed to honor 20 years of partnership between The Y in Central Maryland and PNC Grow Up Great. The two organizations have been working together since Grow Up Great’s founding in 2004.
“This and all the other Y early childhood projects are only possible with the two decades of significant investment made by PNC Grow Up Great and PNC to The Y’s early childhood education programs, and in support of The Y’s overall mission,” adds Dana M. Smith, The Y in Central Maryland’s board chair. “Abundant research shows that quality early childhood education, like that which happens here and throughout The Y’s extensive footprint … supports cognitive development skills, social-emotional skills and long-term academic success.”
Y Preschool students broke in the new space with a special story time led by Laura Gamble, regional president for the PNC in Greater Maryland, while PNC volunteers planted flowers and crops in the garden.
“The young children who attend the Y Preschool in Towson will benefit from the playground and children’s garden in countless ways,” Hoey adds in an interview with Baltimore’s Child. “The playground and children’s garden that PNC enabled is much more than meets the eye. It’s really an outdoor classroom. We’re ecstatic about it and extremely grateful to our friends at PNC for investing in the future of the youngest among us in such significant ways.”
