Bright idea brings PVELC to The Factory

In 2024, employees of The Factory Ministries and Pequea Valley School District (PVSD) were working to solve a problem. The Pequea Valley Early Learning Center (PVELC), located in the Pequea Valley Intermediate School (PVIS), needed a new home. PVELC includes three preschool classrooms, space for child care for infants and toddlers, and before- and after-school care. With the current PVIS building due to be demolished in the near future, plans were underway to move the classrooms and offices to the west wing of The Factory Ministries building, formerly Paradise Elementary School.

However, the expense of adding HVAC to the rooms available at 3293 Lincoln Highway East, Paradise, came with a price tag, estimated at $750,000 to $800,000. With the new center needing to be open by Thursday, July 31, 2025, the problem sent representatives of PVSD and The Factory into a brainstorming session. "(It was going to cost $1 million to get (PVELC) in there," recalled Adam Nagle, executive director of The Factory. "That was a steep ask."

Looking for a more cost-effective way to make room for PVELC led to some asking a few "what if?" questions. According to Nagle, Community Action Partnership (CAP), which oversees the PVELC classrooms, needed offices in the building. "So we needed to take one of (the available west wing) rooms and break it into offices," explained Nagle. At this point in the brainstorming session, Lisa Eckert, senior director of youth services with The Factory, pointed out that a room in the west wing was already serving as offices for herself; Karla Beiler, elementary program and family outreach coordinator; Cherie Oswald, early learning program and family outreach coordinator; and Hannah Hoffman, youth center program and teen outreach coordinator. "Lisa said, 'What if our team came to the east side of the building, and we did shared space?'" By trading spaces, CAP would get the necessary offices and classrooms - some of which had previously served as Headstart rooms and did not need remodeling or added HVAC systems. Likewise, two rooms in the east wing were remodeled to become the new Braves Learning Center, an educational area for programs overseen by Eckert and her staff, and shared office space with the necessary HVAC systems already in place. A door was added for easy access between the offices and the center.

The new Braves Learning Center East has been painted in bright colors and sports new kitchen cupboards and a counter donated completely by Paradise Custom Kitchens. A space is available for a refrigerator to be donated. The room has its own outside entrance now, as well. "The cool thing is that this room now has a bathroom, which for safety is a huge deal," noted Nagle.

Nagle said the east wing changes cost about $100,000. "With the new playground, we are at just over $400,000," said Nagle. "(Trading spaces) saved a bunch of money, most of which was grant money. Funds that have been dedicated to the project include two High Foundation grants totaling $250,000 and a CAP grant of $100,000 for the playground. "The rest will be individual donor money," noted Nagle.

The Factory Ministries focuses on six areas of resources that individuals need to function positively: intellectual, emotional, relational, financial, physical, and spiritual. "As we define poverty, it's not just those who can't put food on the table," said Nagle. "Being under-resourced (can mean a lack of) intellectual resources and social/emotional resources for children." The work of both The Factory Ministries youth programs, which include a number of early learning outreaches, and PVELC is important because they are aimed at the very root of poverty. "What's so important about this work," noted Nagle, "is that more than 60% (of PVSD students) are on free and reduced-cost lunches. There's a poverty threshold that is pretty substantial."

Nagle went on to explain that tackling the early education piece of fighting poverty is crucial. He pointed out that the PVSD kindergarten readiness score has risen more than 30 percentage points over the last five or six years. "(That increase is) because of the collaborative work and the work we do in this space," said Nagle of the Braves Learning Center and PVELC rooms. "It is life altering for a young person to have the resources (and for us) to be able to support the school district and support families."

Individuals who have questions about how to support the work of PVELC and The Factory may contact Nagle at 717-687-9594 or adam@thefactoryministries.com. Readers who would like to learn more about The Factory may visit https://thefactoryministries.com.