On June 18, we broke ground on First Steps with Abbey. We were blessed to be joined by Sara Bloom (Quality Places Manager, KS Department of Commerce), LaRochelle Young (Mayor, City of Atchison), Katherine Harris (Director, First Steps Childhood Learning Center), Melissa Rooker (Executive Director, KS Children’s Cabinet and Trust Fund), Senator Dinah Sikes (KS Senate Minority Leader & Children’s Cabinet Trustee), Nina Ostertag (Director, First Steps Childcare Center), Dr. John Eplee(Former State Representative), Senator Jeff Klemp, Pat George (Former KS Secretary of Commerce), and Bill Murphy (City Commissioner). 

In 2021, St. Benedict’s Abbey purchased over 160 acres of land in Atchison, Kansas at a property tax sale, including the abandoned Kansas Juvenile Detention Facility . The Abbey has a goal to transform the site into a family and children services complex; offering integrated childcare, medical, pregnancy resource and social servicesto Atchison County families. Funded in part by a $5 million Capital Project Fund grant, the project will renovate three buildings and the surrounding area to meet urgent local demand—especially for childcare services in Atchison County. First Steps Childhood Learning Center is partnering with the Abbey in launching First Steps with Abbey, a nonprofit Christian childhood learning center. This collaborative effort reflects the power of faith-based community partnerships to drive meaningful and lasting change.