MARION, ILLINOIS (WSIL) -- It's back to daycare for children who attend Robin's Nest Learning Center or "school" as they like to call it, but on August 4th playing on the floor with toys wouldn't be possible.
The facility experienced flooding, so children and staff had to leave early with no clear answer on when they could return. Meanwhile, Cornerstone Church opened their doors as a temporary location.
Director Jena Parson is thankful for the help and its pastor for offering the lending hand.
"There was no hesitation you know of anything," she recalls. "He just said they would be there for us no matter what we needed."Â
Clean up crews were at the daycare within 24 hours of flooding to assess the damage, clean the water out, and get to work on repairs.
"It did flood a lot of our building on the backside, so they did have to cut out the drywall in a majority of the building and classrooms," she explains.Â
Once that was patched up, it was time to repaint.
Miss. Korena has only been at Robin's Nest for a few weeks, but she's already put in a noticeable effort. She spent about 16 hours helping to finish murals of a dinosaur and giraffe.
"I honestly think that I did a really good job with the skills that I have," she says of the work.Â
The kiddos give their full approval and were excited to see these new characters on the walls.Â
The daycare also had to touch up existing murals and put in new carpeting. Even parents volunteered their time to get the building restored.Â
Parson, staff, and the kiddos can all agree that it feels good to be back.
"Although the kids loved being at Cornerstone as everybody says, 'there's no place like home,'" she adds.Â