Cornell Cooperative Extension of Saratoga County has broken ground on a new Community STEM and Agricultural Educational Center at the 4-H Training Center on Middleline Road in Ballston Spa.
The 3,650-square-foot facility will encompass three state-of-the-art classrooms and will increase opportunities for the Saratoga County 4-H program as well as outside youth organizations, officials said. The project has been on the table for over eight years.
“The Program Committee and I saw a need for increased classroom space. We had outgrown the meeting space that we currently have, which is utilized by our 4-H clubs, as well as many other organizations from across the county,” said Greg Stevens, 4-H program leader.
The program looked at many options and landed on expansion via a totally new educational center. The CCE/Saratoga County board of directors gave their approval for the project, and the committee quickly got to work and began to design.
When the pandemic hit, the capital campaign to raise funds for building was put on hold.
“It wasn’t fiscally or socially appropriate to be asking businesses and the community to donate who were struggling themselves for money,” Stevens said.
When the effects from the pandemic slowed down, 4-H and dedicated volunteers reignited the project. Led by financial support from Stewarts and the Dake Family Foundation, Curtis Lumber, the Golub Foundation, the Alfred Z. Solomon Charitable Trust, and others, 4-H has raised nearly $400,000.
Officials said more fundraising is needed to reach their ultimate goal of $500,000.
“We have made fantastic progress, and we appreciate the help to date, but we still need more support,” said Meg Soden, the 4-H Program Committee chair.
People wanting to donate can visit ccesaratoga.org. There are naming opportunities for companies donating to the project.
For more information about the 4-H program or the campaign, call 518-885-8995. The 4-H Youth Development Program is the youth education component of Cornell Cooperative Extension.