Garrett Neese/Daily Mining Gazette The Keweenaw Chamber of Commerce celebrated Bridging Gaps’ membership in the group with a ribbon-cutting ceremony for its space at Glad Tidings Church Thursday. The child care center is licensed for up to 32 children up to the age of 5.

HANCOCK — The lack of local child care providers has been flagged as a key issue for residents and an obstacle to bringing in prospective employees.

One part of the solution was celebrated Thursday, as the Bridging Gaps Childcare Center held a ribbon-cutting at its Hancock site.

The center, located at Glad Tidings Church, was created about a year and a half ago by parents who had run out of other options, said board president Whitney Brey.

“Parents got together from all different aspects of the community that are working parents, and we decided that it was time to fill the need,” she said. “And the name came from me getting stuck from the bridge going up between the two communities.”

Glad Tidings made sense because of the convenient location, Brey said — between Houghton and Calumet, and near the Hancock schools and UP Health – Portage hospital.

Bridging Gaps rents the space from Glad Tidings, which has been “amazing” to work with, said director Alexi Geshel. When the existing Glad Tidings playground wasn’t up to state code for their age group, Glad Tidings gave the center space to build its own playground developed for younger kids.

The center is open to children up to 5 years old. There’s a focus on free play and independence, where kids can learn to pour their own water or put on snow gear for themselves.

“My 2-year-olds, they see what the 5-year-olds do, and they’re going to try to do it,” said Alexi Geshel, the center’s director. “When they can finally accomplish that task, it feels so good for them to be able to do. That’s important for me, is to see them be proud of themselves.”

That free play also teaches kids how to form friendships, Geshel said. Some of them have been in daycares together since they were five months old.

“I don’t necessarily think that knowing your ABCs is the most important thing going in there,” she said. “I think creating friendships and knowing how to build relationships is probably the most important for their age group. So that’s really what we try to promote here, is building friendships and creating opportunities for that.”

Nineteen children are currently enrolled at the center, which is licensed for up to 32. No spots are currently open for infants, which require a lower ratio of children to teachers. However, there is still room for toddlers.

“We’re trying to continue to work to grow,” Brey said. “The church has more space for us to grow, and we’ve worked really well with them because they’re both nonprofits. And so we are trying to expand as soon as we get more clients.”

Bridging Gaps is looking for an additional lead teacher, which would allow it to open a second toddler room, Brey said. More assistants are also being hired.

Having kids at the preschool has been a great experience, Brey said.

“They’re excited to come here,” she said. “Half the time, they don’t want to come home with us at the end of the day. The teachers love the kids like they are their own. And so that’s just so heartwarming for a parent, right? We all want our kids going somewhere where they’re loved like we would love them and knowing that they’re comfortable here lets you know it’s a great-run place.”

Thursday’s ribbon-cutting was put on by the Keweenaw Chamber of Commerce. With businesses growing in the area, it’s exciting to see people step up to fill a much-needed role, said Abbie Parker, a member of the Chamber board.

“We are really glad that we can get it out to the public that this is here in our community,” she said. “The chamber has a great platform to tell the community members about this and we can only hope that this grows the enrollment at Bridging Gaps, that they can get more teachers on board and that the area can really address our daycare shortage.”

Bridging Gaps is located at 601 Ingot St. in Hancock. It operates from 7:30 a.m.-5:30 p.m. Monday through Friday. For more information and to apply for enrollment, go to bgchildcare.com.