Baby Boom in Northern Door

With a median age of about 52 years old – compared to the statewide median of about 39 years old – Door County has one of the oldest populations of Wisconsin’s 72 counties.

So it’s not only surprising but also welcome news that Northern Door Children’s Center (NDCC) in Sister Bay is experiencing a veritable baby boom. In March, the center will have 17 infants enrolled: the highest number enrolled at the same time in years.

“Our typical infant enrollment over the last 10 years or so has been more in the range of eight to 10,” said NDCC’s education and community-relations coordinator, Karen Corekin-DeLaMar. After a drop in enrollment during the recession that hit in 2008, the center’s numbers have started to climb, but these recent figures are unusually high.

Coincidentally, the other welcome news is that a new scholarship fund has been established to assist the families of infants at NDCC. Because of the state-mandated ratio of four teachers per child, infant care is the most expensive.

Called the New Infant Assistance (NIA) Scholarship, it is named after the anonymous donors’ beloved black Labrador retriever Nia, who died recently at age 14. To kick off the first NIA Scholarships, the fund will pay the weekly tuition for every infant enrolled at NDCC for the week of February 11-15.

“This is the NIA Scholarship’s Valentine’s gift to the families of the infants at Northern Door Children’s Center,” said Corekin-DeLaMer. “We’re hoping this generous start to the NIA Scholarships will motivate others to donate to the fund.”

If you’d like to donate, visit northerndoorchildrenscenter.org or call 920.854.4244.