On Saturday, October 11th, 200 Rockingham County and Harrisonburg residents joined Valley Interfaith Action, corporate and elected leaders, to dedicate the first Valley Early Education Reimagined (VEER) preschool center at Park View Mennonite Church, which is set to open this October. Delegate Tony Wilt, as well as representatives from Virginia Poultry Federation and Eastern Mennonite University, committed to working with Valley Interfaith Action to address crucial infrastructure needed for Harrisonburg and Rockingham County’s families and economic development, including early education and childcare and rural transit. 

VEER is a first-of-its-kind private-public partnership between Valley Interfaith Action, area employers, and the public sector, to increase access & affordability for families and provide compensation & career advancement opportunities for educators. VEER launches and operates new, state-licensed early education and child care centers that are financially sustainable, demonstrating a transformative model for early education and childcare that can be replicated across Virginia.  

President of the Virginia Poultry Federation, Hobey Baughan, affirmed the need for childcare for area businesses, “We’ve got the start of something here. I hope we can get everyone rowing in the same direction.”

New VEER centers can open for a third of the average cost to open a childcare center.  Once open, VEER effectively brings together private and existing public resources to fund the true cost of care, eliminating the need for annual grants. Through VEER, area employers can use existing federal tax credits to support their workforce needs.    

“VIA is full-blown”, Delegate Wilt announced. Delegate Wilt agreed to host a meeting with leaders of Valley Interfaith Action and Delegate Luke Torian, Chair of the Appropriations Committee, “the big money committee in the House,” to discuss VIA’s model to address childcare needs. He also shared that he will be requesting funds through the Governor’s budget.

VEER at Park View offers care Monday through Friday, 7 am-5:30 pm, year-round, and will serve up to 45 students. A second VEER site is scheduled to open in Spring 2026. Families or employers interested in learning more are encouraged to reach out to [email protected]                      

Valley Interfaith Action is a strictly non-partisan, multi-issue, volunteer leader-led, broad-based organization that brings together diverse leaders and their institutions across political, race, faith, and city-county divides to improve life for families in the Shenandoah Valley. Valley Interfaith Action is made up of 26 dues-paying member institutions representing 11,000 residents in Rockingham County and Harrisonburg.