York Day Early Learning Celebrates Ribbon Cutting of New Outdoor Classroom and Nature Center
York Day Early Learning students participated in the ribbon-cutting event.
Ceremony honors transformative investment by PNC Bank and The Powder Mill Foundation in early childhood education
WHAT: York Day Early Learning (YDEL) hosted a ribbon-cutting ceremony to officially open its new Outdoor Classroom and Nature Center — a dedicated outdoor learning environment designed to inspire curiosity, hands-on exploration, and a love of learning in children from birth through age 5.
WHO: York Day Early Learning leadership, staff, and children; Ellen Kyzer from PNC and Michael Hady from The Powder Mill Foundation; elected officials and community partners.
WHEN: Thursday, April 23, 2026 | 10:00 a.m.
WHERE: York Day Early Learning | 450 E. Philadelphia Street, York, PA 17403
WHY: Research shows that up to 90 percent of a child's brain develops by age 5, and outdoor play is a proven driver of language development, social-emotional growth, and cognitive development. This new space expands YDEL's ability to provide high-quality, nature-based early learning experiences to the children and families it serves in York City.
BACKGROUND
The Outdoor Classroom and Nature Center was made possible through the generous support of two funders whose legacies are deeply rooted in York County's early childhood education landscape.
About the PNC Foundation
The PNC Foundation, which receives its principal funding from The PNC Financial Services Group (www.pnc.com), actively supports organizations that provide services for the benefit of communities in which it has a significant presence. The Foundation focuses its philanthropic mission on early childhood education and community and economic development, whichbincludes the arts and culture. Through PNC Grow Up Great®, its signature cause that began in 2004, PNC has created a bilingual $500 million, multiyear initiative to help prepare children from birth to age 5 for success in school and life. For more information, visit
http://www.pncgrowupgreat.com.
The Powder Mill Foundation
Established in 1993 by Louis Appell, Jr. and his wife Josephine, The Powder Mill Foundation supports effective collaboration between community partners and local government to build vital, authentic urban places in York. A longtime champion of early childhood education in York County, the Foundation has been a longstanding supporter of York Day Early Learning and is a lead funder of the ECHO (Every Child Has Opportunities) initiative — a community-wide effort to expand high-quality early care for low-income families throughout the region.
About York Day Early Learning
York Day Early Learning (YDEL) is a York, Pennsylvania 501(c)(3) nonprofit and York County's longest-operating childcare center, providing high-quality early childhood education during nontraditional hours — including evenings, overnight, and weekends — for the children of working families employed in shift-work roles. YDEL exists to ensure that no parent has to choose between their job and their child's safety.
Committed to making early childhood education accessible to all, YDEL provides scholarships to more than 80% of enrolled families through a combination of public funding and private philanthropy. YDEL's model — rooted in equity, community partnerships, and the belief that quality childcare should align with when families actually work — is increasingly recognized as a national blueprint for closing the nontraditional-hours childcare gap.