VCEDA presents a ceremonial check to Veritas Nurturing Center for a Seed Capital Matching Grant approved for this new small business in Russell County. In photo, from left, are Phillip and Jeanette Puckett, members of the The Veritas Campus board; Jodi Campbell, director of the Veritas Nurturing Center; and Jonathan Belcher, VCEDA executive director/general counsel.
LEBANON, Va. – November 3, 2017 – Veritas Nurturing Center, a new daycare center in Russell County for children six weeks to five years old, has been approved by the Virginia Coalfield Economic Development Authority (VCEDA) for up to a $7,000 Seed Capital Matching Grant under a new funding program started by VCEDA in June.
Opened in September 2017 by the non-profit group, The Veritas Campus, the daycare center is one of several small businesses in the region that were approved for a Seed Capital Matching Grant by VCEDA at its October board meeting. The dollar-for-dollar matching grants are designed for businesses three years and under with less than 10 full-time employees, and applicants work with the Small Business Development Centers at Mountain Empire and Southwest Virginia community colleges to prepare the applications to VCEDA. Representatives of the non-profit’s board worked with Margie Douglass, director of the Small Business Development Center at Southwest Virginia Community College.
The Nurturing Center, which is located in Gracewood Community Church in Lebanon, currently is accepting newborns and children up to five years old and is open Monday through Friday, 7:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. The schedule ranges from two or three days a week to a five-day week and can be found on the center’s website – www.theveritascampus.weebly.com.
“We saw a need for daycare in our region, and our board felt this center fits with the Veritas mission and vision,” said Jeanette Puckett, a member of the Veritas Campus board. Eleven children were attending the center in late October; the center can care for 56 children. She said the seed capital matching grant will help this young business to continue to grow.
Director of the Nurturing Center is Jodi Campbell, a Russell County native, a Southwest Virginia Community College and Virginia Tech graduate, who was formerly employed at the YWCA daycare facility in Bristol.
“Having available daycare is important for employers and is a good quality of life amenity for communities,” said Jonathan Belcher, VCEDA executive director/general counsel. “Helping young, small businesses like the Veritas Nurturing Center with a seed capital matching grant also helps VCEDA to continue to market our region as an excellent location for employee families to live.”
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About Virginia Coalfield Economic Development Authority and Virginia’s e-Region: The Virginia Coalfield Economic Development Authority, created by the Virginia General Assembly in 1988 to enhance and diversify the region’s economy and help create jobs, markets Virginia’s e-Region and its focus on electronic information technology, energy, education and emerging technologies. VCEDA is a unique economic development organization that manages funds for economic development projects from a percentage of the coal and natural gas severance taxes paid by coal and natural gas companies that operate in the region. Located in southwestern Virginia, the region includes Buchanan, Dickenson, Lee, Russell, Scott, Tazewell, and Wise counties and the City of Norton. www.vceda.us or www.e-Region.org.