A yearly fundraiser for Colorado Mountain College Glenwood’s Children’s Mini College will help bring some pre-St. Patrick’s Day cheer, plus much-needed financial support for an important nonprofit preschool resource.

From 5-7 p.m. on Friday, March 14, the Children’s Mini College – located at the CMC Glenwood Center will host its second annual Gold & Green community event. It’s a free Irish-themed happy hour, with Irish music, donated beer and wine, plus Irish appetizers, some of which will be baked by the Mini College’s young students.

Wall of Giving

Abby Hollenbaugh, director of the Children’s Mini College, said the event is designed to help fund the teachers, families and children in the program, with a Wall of Giving built by students’ families and decorated by the students. Attendees can bid on a wide range of donated items including local artwork, event tickets, ski passes and weekend getaways, with every dollar going directly to Mini College programming.

“We operate as an auxiliary program of CMC, and run independently, so we rely on a mixture of tuition, fundraisers and grants to keep operating,” Hollenbaugh said of the Mini College, which won the 2024 Locals’ Choice for child care center.

Since 1978, the Children’s Mini College has offered early childhood education in a warm and welcoming environment, currently aimed at 3- to 5-year-old children. Hollenbaugh said the Mini College was started to provide educational services to children of CMC faculty and CMC students, though space is also available for children in the extended Glenwood Springs community.

“We’ve pivoted to serve as a community preschool for the last 20 years, sticking with the times and meeting our families’ needs,” she added. “Nowadays, working families need full-time, year-round child care, and that care is so hard to find these days.”

Plans for expansion

Later this fall, the Mini College will expand its offerings, with a second classroom and new year-round and full-time options available for parents. The new classroom will welcome potty-trained 2-and-a-half-year-olds and younger 3-year-olds. Hollenbaugh said that will complement the program’s ongoing half-day, school-year and summertime programming.

Like the existing programs, the Mini College mixes individual and group activities, with a focus on art, music, cooking, science, pre-reading and pre-math, with plenty of make-believe, designed around the children’s interests. Currently, the Mini College has room for 18 students per day, which will increase to 28 children in the fall.

For more information on the event or year-round programs and availability, contact Children’s Mini College at 970-945-2446. Children’s Mini College is located at CMC Glenwood Center, 1402 Blake Ave., Glenwood Springs.