Mountain Community Children’s Centre at Mangrove Mountain reopened last week, after being devastated by an electrical fire in 2017.
The fire left the centre inoperable, with hundreds of thousands of dollars in damage and the community without a local pre-school to send their children to.
A fundraising effort by residents and businesses of the Mangrove community raised almost $60,000 for the rebuild through activities such as the Mountain Community Annual Country Fair, Bunnings barbecues, an end-of-year concert, raffles and even lamington drives.
Mary Luci, who founded the centre 39 years ago alongside her husband Paul, said the it is a big asset to the community.
“Without the centre, children are often left sitting in a truck or to play by themselves while their family are working on the farm, but here at the centre children are nurtured, taught and get to play with other children,” she said.
The Lucis’ grandchildren are now going through the centre and their eldest grandchild is undertaking a traineeship.
“There was something about our little centre that made families want to bring their children here and now we have a centre that looks like a million dollars; we’re just blown away,” Luci said.
Member for Gosford, Liesl Tesch, popped in for the reopening.
“Not only is the building spectacular, you can tell the staff support the children and the families with absolute love the minute you enter the facility,” Tesch said.
“I was able to play with the kids on the gorgeous bike path, look at art works, hear stories, chat with committee members, staff and parents and celebrate the happiness with the community.
The new building has been dedicated to the Luci family.
Terry Collins