The YMCA of Southern Maine will watch your kids for free while you vote.
Four branches — Biddeford, Portland, Freeport and New Gloucester — are participating in the YMCA’s nationwide initiative.
Child care will be available at those locations from 7 a.m. to 1 p.m. and then from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. The service is free for everyone, not just YMCA members.
Helen Breña, CEO of the YMCA of Southern Maine, said the goal is to help parents and guardians find time to vote.
“We enthusiastically joined this idea so that we could provide a place for parents to bring their kids, knowing it would be a safe place,” said Helen Breña, CEO of the YMCA of Southern Maine. “So they could go and vote, regardless of what they vote for.”
While she is not certain how many people will participate, Breña said the four locations are prepared with extra staff if needed. Parents and guardians who are not members of the YMCA should bring an ID with them, she said, and they should be prepared to fill out a form with contact and safety information for the child.
“It’s about the Y giving back and supporting the community,” Breña said. “This seems like a great way to do it, so everybody can exercise the right to vote. That’s what our country is about.”
Contact information and addresses for these branches is available at ymcaofsouthernmaine.org.
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