A Kid’s Place breaks ground on 12,000-square-foot activity center

A Kid’s Place of Tampa Bay, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that provides a safe, nurturing home to children in foster care in Hillsborough, Pinellas and Pasco counties, broke ground on a 12,000-square-foot activity center at a ceremonial event this morning.

Over 100 staff, board members, volunteers, donors and civic dignitaries attended the event at the nonprofit’s campus in Brandon, Fla., to celebrate this milestone for better serving foster children in Tampa Bay. The event included presentations, a ceremonial groundbreaking of The MacKinnon Family Activity Center, refreshments and campus tours.

“This is a momentous day for A Kid’s Place and another step forward in providing foster children in Tampa Bay with the educational, health, therapy and family services they deserve,” said Beth Bradburn, chair of the A Kid’s Place of Tampa Bay board of directors and the capital campaign’s steering committee, as well as chief financial officer of Homes by WestBay. “The MacKinnon Family Activity Center will enable us to offer deeper, more frequent and more impactful experiences to help our kids find stability, and to heal and go on to live successful lives.”

In August, A Kid’s Place announced the launch of its Building a Brighter Future capital campaign to raise $8 million, which will fund construction of the new activity center, in addition to expanding other needed services.

The MacKinnon Family Activity Center – named after major donor and family of Dottie Berger MacKinnon, founder of A Kid’s Place – will bridge the gap between what the nonprofit can currently provide in its limited existing space and the services, programs and opportunities the children at A Kid’s Place need.

“This activity center will enable the organization to more effectively serve the children in its care because it will create more opportunities to connect them to the people – house parents, families, peers, teachers, coaches, tutors and doctors – and the services they need to grow, heal and achieve success,” said Brad Gregory, CEO of A Kid’s Place.

The activity center will include a large indoor gathering space for birthday parties, holidays and other group celebrations; more rooms for therapy, family visitation, arts/crafts and vocational education; dedicated educational computer lab; spaces for enhanced services within the “Stepping Stones” program, which teaches kids ages 13 and up independent living skills; an outdoor basketball court; and an outdoor courtyard, exercise room and swimming pool.

Construction Services Inc. of Tampa, which is owned by Fred Lay, a former member of the A Kid’s Place board of directors, is donating all general contracting services for the build. AiC Architecture designed the building, and Hendra and Associates Civil Engineering is also involved in the project.

Nearly 5,000 children are in foster care in the Tampa Bay area. Since 2009, A Kid’s Place of Tampa Bay has served over 1,700 children and 753 families. The average length of stay at A Kid’s Place is 578 days, and the longest length of stay for a current child living at A Kid’s Place is seven years.

“We are fortunate to have so many generous supporters in the community who have already donated to Building a Brighter Future,” said Samantha Mellen, director of development at A Kid’s Place. “We encourage anyone who wants to make a real difference in the lives of kids to donate to the capital campaign.”

To learn more about the Building a Brighter Future campaign, call Samantha Mellen at (813) 381-3839 or visit akpcapitalcampaign.org/.

About A Kid’s Place of Tampa Bay

For 16 years, the mission of A Kid’s Place of Tampa Bay has been to provide a safe, loving and nurturing home for foster children and those aging out of foster care. Founded in 2009, A Kid’s Place provides residential services to children from Hillsborough, Pinellas and Pasco counties who have been removed from their homes due to abuse, neglect or abandonment. A Kid’s Place provides a variety of services to meet the social, educational, medical and psychological needs of each child, with a primary focus on keeping sibling groups together in a safe, stable, home-like environment. Since inception, A Kid’s Place has served more than 1,700 foster children and over 753 families. For more information, visit www.akidsplacetb.org.