Skip-A-Long Breaks Ground on New $15.7M Center in Rock Island
A new golden era is on the horizon at Rock Island’s 21st Avenue and 11th Street, starting next fall, as SAL Community Services is working to open a new $15.7-million child-care and early childhood center, across from Friendship Manor.
Dozens of nonprofit, business, local and state leaders attended the groundbreaking Friday for the 32,500-square-foot facility, which is designed to meet the growing needs of children, families, and the community. It will replace the current SAL center at 1609 4th St., Rock Island, growing the number of kids served (age six weeks to 12 years) by 25 percent.
Since January 2025, SAL has raised $12.9 million of its $15.7-million campaign, Building a Brighter Future: The Campaign for Rock Island Families.
A rendering of the new SAL child-care and early childhood center, to be built next to Olivet Baptist Church, which is at 115 21st Ave., Rock Island.
“The need for high-quality early care and education in Rock Island is urgent,” said Marcy Mendenhall, SAL’s president and CEO. “Our current facility, built in the early 1970s, is outdated and not fully accessible to many families who rely on us. The new campus will provide safe, modern classrooms, improved tools for teachers, and expanded enrollment capacity, offering children the foundation they need to thrive and giving families the reliable support to work, study, and build a better future.”
“This is a milestone for our Skip-A-Long early childhood education center,” she said Friday. SAL (which has served the community 55 years) also operates similar early childhood centers in Moline, Milan and Davenport.
“We are here to have our children have a strong start in early childhood education,” Mendenhall said. Her 91-year-old father attended the ceremony Friday, and she’s proud of the intergenerational aspect of the new Friendship Neighborhood campus.
A rendering of the new child-care and early childhood center, to open in October 2026 (photo by Jonathan Turner).
Several years ago, she approached Friendship Manor CEO Ted Pappas, Jr. at a community event and talked with him about her intergenerational vision, to benefit both children and senior citizens.
“I am so proud of our partnership with Friendship Manor, what it takes to be a community collaboration and this program is one of three in Illinois,” Mendenhall said. “It’s innovation like this that can only happen with community collaboration.”
Residents of Friendship Manor (which acquired the building site and sold it to SAL) will interact with children in structured learning experiences, read together, share stories, and participate in creative projects.
“This approach will enhance the early education experience and provide seniors with meaningful engagement, social connection, and a sense of purpose,” Pappas said. “We are so proud and excited about this partnership. It exemplifies a shared commitment to innovative, community-centered programming that benefits multiple generations.”
This corner (which had several vacant homes, later torn down) represented blight and ugliness in years past, he noted. “We had a dream with the city of Rock Island, to do something with this corner, to create a welcome way, create a new neighborhood, Friendship Neighborhood.”
Pat Allison, a 41-year SAL staff veteran, is director of the Rock Island center (photo by Jonathan Turner).
“We had a dream that someday this could become even more,” Pappas said. The seniors at Friendship Manor are affected by loneliness, helplessness and boredom, he noted – the latter two have been mainly solved with pets and gardens, among other activities.
“Then we have the loneliness piece that plagues our seniors, and this is a piece that Skip-A-Long is going to provide, and that’s the children,” Pappas said. “Children help take away loneliness to our seniors.”
The new center will be transformative, because on a daily basis, Friendship Manor residents will have a chance to interact with the Skip-A-Long kids.
“What an impact that will be on seniors, elders, and our children coming together,” Pappas said.
This unique model, the first of its kind in the Quad Cities and only the third such program in Illinois, allows children and seniors to learn, play, and grow together. One similar program is Kindness Creators, which operates a child-care center in a senior living community in the Chicago suburb of Oak Park.
Teresa Ramos, first secretary for the Illinois Department of Early Childhood (photo by Jonathan Turner).
“The right thing to do”
The new Rock Island campus will feature 12 bright, modern classrooms and expand enrollment by 25 percent, serving 192 children each year. The facility is designed with safety, accessibility, and modern standards in mind, including improved air quality, climate control, and ADA-compliant features.
“Investing in children and families is the right thing to do, and it’s the smart thing to do,” Mendenhall said. “Lifting up children lifts up families, the economy, and every part of our community. This new campus represents hope, opportunity, and the promise of a brighter future for Rock Island.”
Economic and social research shows that high-quality early childhood education is one of the most effective investments a community can make, according to SAL. Every dollar invested generates $4 to $9 in long-term return, through improved educational outcomes, stronger workforce participation, and increased economic mobility.
Local kids were part of the Oct. 3 groundbreaking ceremony at 21st Avenue and 11th Street, Rock Island (photo by Jonathan Turner).
“This project is a smart investment in the future of our community,” said campaign chair D’Juana Ballard. “It’s about access, opportunity, and ensuring every child has the foundation to thrive. Together, we can create a stronger, more resilient community for generations to come.”
“Today is a special day – a day that brings me much joy and happiness,” said SAL Rock Island center director Pat Allison, who’s been with SAL 41 years. “We thank you for making this vision, Marcy Mendenhall, become a reality. This new building will have a profound impact on the children and their families in this community.”
SAL allows children to develop to their fullest potential, and affords parents the opportunity “to provide their children with a safe, nurturing learning environment, while they go off to work or school,” Allison said. “I can’t wait to hear the new building echo loudly with laughter from happy children and happy parents.”
“Thank you to everyone for a dream come true and investing in the children in this community,” she said.
Local kids were part of the Oct. 3 groundbreaking ceremony at 21st Avenue and 11th Street, Rock Island (photo by Jonathan Turner)
Illinois Department of Early Childhood secretary Teresa Ramos – whom Mendenhall called “a longtime champion for children” and a “visionary” – also spoke at the Friday event.
“Our goal is to make it simpler, better, fairer for visionaries like Marcy to create the settings and environments for children and families that you do,” Ramos said. “Marcy is not just a leader in Rock Island. She is a leader for early childhood across the state. I can’t think of a significant early childhood committee that we haven’t asked you to be a part of, and you’ve brought your passion and your expertise to. I appreciate everything you’re doing here and I appreciate everything you’re doing statewide to make the system better for children and families.”
The center is also partnering with its 11th Street neighbor, Olivet Baptist Church. Mendenhall credited Rock Island Economic Growth Corp. CEO Brian Hollenback for securing federal and state tax credits, to finance about $2.6 million for the project.
“This new campus is for the community and it’s taken the community to shape it,” she said.
Hollenback said the project represented “bold, brave” decisions, committing significant resources. “The new market tax credit program is one of the greatest tools we have in our country, to be more competitive, because in the state of Illinois it requires a dollar-for-dollar match,” he said.
“When you drive by this facility, look at this as a beacon to acknowledge that when a community comes together, all things are possible,” Hollenback said. “It is an honor to be here; it is an honor to serve.”
Benefitting from $4-million fed grant
Former Congresswoman Cheri Bustos (who represented Illinois’ 17th Congressional District from 2013-2023) spoke Friday, noting she helped secure a $4-million federal economic development grant for the project. Bustos first joined the SAL board in 2001.
“It’s a reminder of what happens when you have vision and federal resources and local resources, and all those meld together to make something happen,” she said. “It is about real progress for real people. I look back and think how innovative Skip-A-Long has always been. It’s an organization that thinks ahead, before the community says you need to do something. This new campus is really proof of that innovation.”
“The investment that we make in our children today is what will take the Quad Cities into the future,” Bustos said.
Rock Island-based IMEG is the engineering firm for the project, and Friday’s event included Pat Eikenberry, the company vice president for civil engineering.
SAL Community Services CEO Marcy Mendenhall (photo by Jonathan Turner).
“We’re honored to contribute our expertise to this project,” he said. “For us, this project is personal. We’re designing it with the entire community. We’re excited to participate in a project where we all live, work and play.”
Eikenberry recalled points IMEG engineers have made about why this project is vital – including water runoff and air handling – because they impact where the kids learn and play, to ensure their health and safety. “These details may not make the headlines, but they matter deeply to the families, the teachers and the children we serve,” he said.
IMEG CEO Paul VanDuyne is the SAL center campaign co-chair, and has served on the SAL board since 2004.
The center (built by Estes Construction) plans to open in October 2026 (in one year and a week). For more information and to contribute, visit the SAL website HERE.
Local kids were part of the Oct. 3 groundbreaking ceremony at 21st Avenue and 11th Street, Rock Island (photo by Jonathan Turner).
