Over the Moon Child Care Center Director Linda Milton, in back, received a grant check from the Flying V Donor Advised Fund of the Wyoming Community Foundation last April. Pictured with Milton at the center in Dubois are Cash Claar, Norma Crary, Colten Jardine, Holden Yeates, Gavin Presby, and in front, Jasper Jardine and Lizzie Varney. Photo by Christine Smith/Dubois Frontier

Over the Moon Child Care of Dubois received a $10,000 grant from the Flying V Donor Advised Fund of the Wyoming Community Foundation to fund general operations costs.

“The most difficult funding opportunities to find are those that can be used to fund salaries,” said Over the Moon president Christine Smith. “Fortunately, the Wyoming Community Foundation and their donors recognize that difficulty and the importance of being able to pay reliable, responsible and qualified people to care for our children.”

Over the Moon is a nonprofit organization serving Dubois and the surrounding area with full- and part-time child care. The center currently provides care for six to 10 children in winter months and up to as many as 15 during summer months.

The Wyoming Community Foundation grant will be used to fund operations such as employee salaries, rent and general expenses.

“It is due to the generosity of the Wyoming Community Foundation, local clubs and organizations, and most especially, the people of this community, that we’ve been able to provide families with child care,” Smith said.

Formed in 2007 in response to a community meeting held to address the need for additional child care in Dubois, Over the Moon will celebrate its second anniversary on July 2, 2009.

Additionally, Over the Moon has recently begun exploring options for constructing a facility in Dubois.

“Our fundraising mission now is two-fold: The first is continuing to search for creative funding solutions to simply keep the center open,” said Smith. “The second is to closely examine the possibility of building a permanent center.”