Serving A Community For Generations

Gloria had just given birth to her second son, and she found it almost impossible to balance working with being a new mother. “The hours I had to work were not flexible towards having to pick up and drop off my son. I wanted to find a way to make an income, have flexibility in my schedule, and take care of my children.” With those goals in mind, she started Los Enanitos Family Daycare.

Through her daycare Gloria watched her family, and the families in her community, thrive. “The kids I have taken care of have grown up to be amazing adults. Many of them stay and continue to contribute the community.” When her husband developed a medical condition and was unable to work, Gloria’s daycare sustained her family of four. “It was me, my husband, and my two kids. Our daycare sustained us, and I provided an income for my family.”

PROVIDING FOR GENERATIONS OF CHILDREN

Gloria’s daycare has been operating in her community for over three decades and can accommodate ten children. “I generally have a waitlist. I still have a relationship with almost all the kids who went through my daycare. Now, they send their kids to me. I am so happy to have served generations of families in my community.”

When the pandemic hit, Gloria had to shut her daycare down due to COVID-19 restrictions. She turned to Ascendus and received a $10,000 loan from the Childcare Provider Initiative and used it to stay afloat until her daycare could re-open. Since then, Gloria has received two other Childcare Provider Initiative loans from Ascendus for renovations and to buy new toys and furniture for the children in her care. “I am really appreciative to Dayanne. She has been so valuable to me. She enrolled me in automatic payments for the loans, and it allowed me to have a perfect payment history. Now, I have an improvement in my credit score. I am grateful for Ascendus.” With an improved credit score, Gloria can now qualify to buy a home, and run a daycare out of a place that she owns herself.

AN ONGOING INSPIRATION

Her daycare has been an inspiration for other immigrants who arrive in the United States. “I was able to help my three sisters immigrate from Colombia to the United States. They lived with me, and I helped to provide for them. Eventually they started their own daycares in our community. We are known as The Four Sisters Daycares.”

Her inspiration does not stop at daycare owners, but it expands to other small business owners as well. “My son decided to open his own coffee shop because of me. He named it Café Gloria. I am so proud of my children, and that they took the love I gave them and gave it back to their community.”

View Cafe Gloria: https://www.instagram.com/cafegloriabos/