Commitment to children and Dyersville community
Mary Ungs-Sogaard never really sat still. Early in life, she was already working at her family’s business, Ungs Shopping Center, in Luxemburg. That same ambition has spurred the success of The Kid Project Community Child Care Center in Dyersville for more than three decades.
Mary studied English, journalism and education in college. While living abroad with her husband Jens in Denmark and Israel, she observed child care in those cultures and brought her observations home to Dyersville, where she and Jens settled.
When she found her three children —and others in the community — in need of a preschool, Mary and several mothers started one themselves. When the preschool needed a new building, she helped design one that included day care, recalling Scandinavian child care centers and her observations of young children in Israel when planning the new construction.
Sponsored by the Dyersville Area Community Foundation, Kid Project has been a nonprofit since it began. The Foundation still provides oversight, a relationship that benefits both organizations.
After helping launch Kid Project, Mary worked with center director Barb Maiers to write grants, develop policies, manage finances and report to the Community Foundation. In the early 2000s, Mary became a member of the Foundation’s board and served two terms as chairperson.
Today, Kid Project holds a four-star rating from the State of Iowa. Foundation board member Jeanne Coppola works with Mary on the board’s Kid Project committee. “I witnessed Mary’s passion when Kid Project was established, and I continue to see it with the center’s success today,” says Coppola. “Her attention to detail and her belief in the importance of children and child care have been the force making Kid Project one of the outstanding child care centers in the area.”
Mary credits her vision for Kid Project to her experiences. “I’m glad I’ve been able to bring some of the good I saw in other parts of the world to my little piece of Iowa,” she reflects.
It’s because of the generosity of dedicated community leaders like Mary that the Dyersville Area Community Foundation is able to make an impact on local nonprofits and residents. To ensure a cause you care about is preserved for generations to come, contact Michelle Grover.