Construction is underway at a nonprofit day care center in Langley, the largest improvement in decades.

The South Whidbey Children’s Center is in the final stages of a significant renovation project affecting the Honey Bear Room, one of its three classrooms. As part of the project, an aging deck was removed from the building and replaced with a new roof and a bathroom accessible only from outdoors was relocated indoors. New painting, flooring and multi-colored cabinets are slated for the downstairs classroom, which is nearing completion and expected to be finished sometime this spring.

The nonprofit launched a capital campaign back in September 2024, and is still seeking to raise $130,000 to $140,000 to cover costs.

“It’s tantalizing, because we’re so close, and so we still need to keep making connections with donors, reminding them of how important it is, not just for the families that are here, but for our community that we have the capacity,” Lindsey Richards, a board member, said.

The day care is divided into three age groups – Stars (1 to 2.5 years old), Honey Bears (2.5 to 4 years) and Sunflowers (3.5 to 5.5 years). Since September 2025, when construction began, the Sunflowers have been meeting in a temporary location at the South Whidbey Community Center. While their classroom is being renovated, the Honey Bears have moved upstairs to the Sunflowers’ room.

“We can’t handle losing the classroom capacity because the need for childcare is so overwhelming, not just in our community, but nationwide,” Richards said.

Currently, the wait list for the South Whidbey Children’s Center is around 100, Executive Director Caitlin Voss said, which is indicative of the growing need. About 40% of families whose children attend the day care receive tuition assistance.

Much of the nonprofit board’s focus lately has been on connecting with previous alumni of the Children’s Center.

“You’re an islander, even if you’re not living here, generally, you come home a couple times a year, right?” Richards said. “You will come home for Thanksgiving, you will come home for the Maxwelton (Fourth of July) parade, whatever it is.”

Located in the former home of schoolteacher Doris Wills-Kienholz, the day care is in a unique setting. That nostalgia seems to be what brings people back years later.

Gena Felton, another board member who attended the Children’s Center as a kid, said her son still frequently talks about his time as a Sunflower or Honey Bear.

At the same time, newcomers to South Whidbey – some of whom have recently joined the board – are also taking an interest in the Children’s Center.

The board is currently planning a major fundraising event for March.

For more information about the South Whidbey Children’s Center or to make a donation, visit swchildrenscenter.com/.

(Photo by Kira Erickson/South Whidbey Record) A recent renovation project on the back of the South Whidbey Children’s Center building is nearing completion.