As California’s under-resourced childcare crisis continues, one Bay Area mother hopes to bridge that gap with an out-of-home daycare center.
“We have a curriculum for babies, for toddlers and for preschoolers. And we even like them to explore and be exposed, and this is very important for them, especially for the little ones for more sensory activities,” says Maribel Aguilar, owner from Apollo. Daycare and preschool, CBS News Bay Area told.
The daycare, located in East Palo Alto, is a Spanish language immersion program.
“It’s very important to me because I can create that community. And that’s the most important thing in my life, I just want to support and help other people. And I think this job gave me the opportunity to do that,” Aguilar said .
She moved from Mexico to East Palo Alto about two years ago and wanted to figure out what she could do in her life to help other parents.
Her daycare program has now become Aguilar’s passion, caring for children from one to five years old.
“They have high self-esteem. They can learn how to solve problems,” Aguilar said.
Many children are learning Spanish for the first time.
She talked about how, as a single parent, she endured many obstacles in raising her children. She wished there were more resources available to care for her children while she worked. And now she hopes to be a helping hand for working parents in the Bay Area.
“It was very difficult for me to find a place where my daughters could run from one job to another, and to find the right person to take care of them. It was a very stressful time at that time. And now with this program, “I can help other mothers, especially when they are alone,” Aguilar said.
She added that her dream became a reality thanks to the support of the Renaissance Entrepreneurship Center. She completed a program of ten courses and received a grant from the center to help start her daycare center.
“No one is actually born knowing how to do accounting, marketing or business operations, so we connect them by helping them turn their ideas into a profitable business,” Sharon Miller, CEO of the Renaissance Entrepreneurship Center, told CBS Bay Area News. “We want to help people start businesses that not only have a positive impact on themselves, but also on the communities in which they live.”
Sharon’s team awarded Aguilar the Entrepreneur of the Year Award in September for her dedication to closing the gap in the child care industry.
“She just absorbed every word she heard and she participated so generously with the lessons and with the other students,” Miller said.
The Renaissance Entrepreneurship Center also offers individual advice, skill-building events and workshops on all things marketing.
As for Aguilar, she said her dreams don’t stop there.
“I want to open as a school from my home, not as a home daycare. I would like to have a school outside so more people can come and have more children,” Aguilar said.
