Local support keeps Los Alamos businesses and community spaces thriving

Bernadette Lauritzen is using two familiar places to make a practical point: the money spent in Los Alamos often shows up again in the form of local jobs, safer spaces, and the programs families rely on. In her July 18 column in the Los Alamos Daily Post business section, the executive director of Champions of Youth Ambitions points to Ark Child Development Center and Dragonfly Playhouse Daycare as examples of how hometown businesses and community spaces depend on steady local support.

Two visible examples say more than a slogan

At Ark Child Development Center, a banner reminds families and staff every day that the center is working toward its goals. At Dragonfly Playhouse, children’s art decorated with hearts for America’s birthday turned an ordinary summer moment into something that felt rooted in the neighborhood. Lauritzen’s point is not just that these places are pleasant to visit, but that they are part of the county’s economic and social fabric.

That matters in a place like Los Alamos County, where residents can easily choose online shopping, larger chains, or trips to nearby cities. When people instead spend at local child care centers, family programs, and small businesses, they help keep those places active, visible, and able to serve the next family that needs them.

Ark’s long local footprint

Ark Child Development Center says it has served the community since 1978, making it one of the county’s longer-running child care options. It operates as a ministry of Los Alamos First United Methodist Church and provides year-round, part-time or full-time childcare and preschool services. That combination matters because it places Ark at the intersection of faith-based service, early learning, and working-family logistics.

The center also says it welcomes all children and families regardless of race, ethnicity, nationality, religion, sexual orientation, economic status, marital status or family situation. That kind of broad welcome is part of what makes a local provider more than a place to drop off a child. It becomes a community institution, one that reflects who lives here and who needs support.

Ark’s investment is not only philosophical. A March 8, 2024 Los Alamos Reporter item said the center installed a new security system, a concrete reminder that small community services also have to keep up with operational and safety needs. Local dollars help make those upgrades possible, whether they come through tuition, church backing, or steady family use.

Dragonfly Playhouse in White Rock brings that same idea into the next neighborhood

Dragonfly Playhouse Daycare has its own documented presence in the county. A Los Alamos Reporter story on Oct. 24, 2021 said it was open and accepting children and identified Lauren Lippiatt as the owner and operator. Another Reporter story on Nov. 16, 2022 said enrollment was open at the daycare in White Rock. The Los Alamos County business directory lists Dragonfly Playhouse Daycare, and the business also appears in the county’s online business and event directory.

Visit Los Alamos describes Dragonfly Playhouse as a child-centered early learning program rooted in connection, creativity and care. That description fits the column’s images of children’s art and holiday decoration, which show how a small business can become part of family tradition rather than just a place of service. In a county where White Rock and Los Alamos each have distinct community rhythms, that kind of presence helps tie the whole area together.

What local spending actually supports

The economic value of shopping and enrolling locally is easiest to see in places like Ark and Dragonfly because the benefits are immediate and visible. Tuition helps sustain staff positions. Regular enrollment keeps classrooms open. Attention from residents helps these programs stay in view, which in turn helps other families find them. When those places thrive, they do more than survive as businesses: they keep youth programming, child care availability, and neighborhood identity intact.

That is the larger argument Lauritzen is making through the column. Local businesses do not stand alone. They depend on parents, neighbors, schools, nonprofits, and residents making repeated choices to keep money and time circulating inside the county. In a small community, that circulation is what preserves the places people recognize by name and the spaces where children create, learn, and celebrate holidays together.

Where Los Alamos County is already pointing people

Los Alamos County’s online business directory is designed to showcase local businesses and nonprofit organizations, which says something important about how the county defines its economy. It is not only about restaurants and retail. It also includes child care, education, family services, and community-minded organizations that give daily life its structure.

Visit Los Alamos reinforces that broader picture by highlighting businesses and offerings that serve families and community life, not just visitors passing through. Together, the county directory and tourism listings make the same case Lauritzen does in her column: if residents want visible hometown businesses, child-focused programs, and familiar gathering places to remain part of Los Alamos and White Rock, the support has to be local and consistent.

That is how a banner in a child care center, a wall of holiday art, and a county business listing become part of the same story. They show a community economy that survives through everyday participation, not abstract goodwill, and they make the answer clear: yes, local money makes a difference here.