By Joseph Marks, Tribune staff reporter

The youngest recipients of funds from the United Way fundraiser that kicked off this week in Freeborn County are students at The Albert Lea Children’s Center.

The center began serving Freeborn County in 1969, and uses United Way funding to offer a sliding fee scale to parents. Kristin Houg, executive director of the center, estimates that between 15 and 20 percent of parents make use of the sliding fee scale. The scale is based on parents’ income and can reduce the cost of tuition by up to 40 percent, she said.

&uot;Any family that enrolls,&uot; said Houg, &uot;we let them know this is available. For some families, that sliding fee scale determines whether they can afford to enroll or not.&uot;

Each room at The Children’s Center has a different name and serves a different age group, said teachers. The youngest students are in the Milky Way room and the oldest are in the Kid’s Klub room.

Teachers at the center design curriculum on a weekly basis to prepare students for school and lifelong learning, said Houg. Each week has a theme, such as farming or fire prevention, and the students participate in special activities connected to that theme.

Each year, students at the center do their part for the United Way effort by making thank you gifts for donors. In previous years, students have made picture frames and large posters with their hand prints on them.