From left: MSAD 44 Superintendent Mark Kenney; Community Concepts CEO Jim Martin; CCI Property Manager John Fitzmorris; CCI Child Care Director Kim Bessette; Region 9 Adult Education Director Dave Murphy; Sunday River Communications Director Ellen Wainwright break ground for Sharon’s Place. Posted
BETHEL – On Thursday, July 25, Community Concepts and local officials broke ground on the new Sharon Wilson Cox Early Learning Center at 310 West Bethel Road, tentatively scheduled to open in January 2025.
The new Head Start Early Learning Center, which will also be known as Sharon’s Place, is named after a former Community Concepts Children’s Services employee, Sharon Wilson Cox, who died of cancer in 2023 and had worked for the organization since 1978.
“It’s hard to put into words how extraordinary the profound impact she has had on children, their families and the community, as well as her friends, her family and me, is,” said Sean Wilson, Sharon’s son. “She would be deeply honored and a little humbled by this type of recognition. It’s a testament to her unwavering dedication and her hard and heartfelt work.”
The learning center is open to children ages 6 weeks to 5 years and has 12 staff members in three classrooms. It will serve 40 children in the Bethel area. The project would not be possible without $1.45 million in federal and state funding, as well as $62,000 in donations from Sunday River and grants from the Maine Community Foundation and the Bingham Betterment Foundation.
“We have been serving children and families at Bethel for over 40 years, and this is the beginning of the next 40 years of continuing to be involved in this area,” said Director of Child Care Services Kim Bessette.
Jim Martin, CEO of Community Concepts, added, “Education and child care continue to be among the greatest needs in rural and western Maine, and we are proud to provide this important service to this community.”
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