Name of business: Kidz Ministry Foundation Infant & Child Care Center.
Type of business: Day care and pre-school.
Location: Now at 2445 Whitmore Avenue and also at 2545 Third Street, Ceres.
Hours of operation: The center is open 6:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. Mondays through Saturdays.
Contact info: (209) 523-KIDZ or visit www.kidz-care.com.
History of business: In a year's time, Brenda Cabrerro has seen her daycare facility at 2545 Third Street go from one child to more than she was able to handle at the site. Thus, Kidz Ministry Foundation has expanded to a second site, this one at a commercial center at 2445 Whitmore Avenue will double as a daycare for infants and a preschool.
"We were full," said Cabrerro of her Third Street center. "We were maxed out."
The new 3,600-square-foot center on Whitmore Avenue is taking applications for up to 21 infants and 30 pre-schoolers. (Nineteen are filled). Kidz's second location is to meet the growing need for affordable infant care along with expanding into a preschool to meet the needs of the children who are currently attending Kidz and who would have been turned out once they reached the age of two.
Infants aged from six weeks to 24 months are treated to play time, snacks, and loving care that includes even back rubs until they fall asleep for their nap.
The first center on Third Street is licensed for up to 15 infants aged six weeks to two years of age. That center will be kept open for non-mobile children, or those who do not walk. If they have a preschool sibling at the Whitmore site, they may attend there.
Cabrerro worked with landlord Bill Taylor to have two outdoor playgrounds.
Cabrerro is expanding her staff through SCORE, which is helping with a business plan "to insure that I have a good contract so I can provide quality care but affordable care as well." The Stanislaus Alliance is helping her to secure SBA funding for staff wages.
A lot of thought and work has been placed into converting the former probation office into a day care and small classes for preschool. In the classrooms, children will receive time for art, games and Zoophonics and Handwriting Without Tears for curriculum which develops handwriting skills as well as small motor development skills.
The entry has a gate security door which parents can access by code or be buzzed in.
Kidz is licensed with the state of California Department of Social Services as an infant center and declares that its purpose is to "provide a high-quality, safe and nurturing environment for young children and families throughout the community with a Christian emphasis." Objectives include building a trusting relationship with children and their families, maintaining a safe and healthy learning environment for all children which allows them to explore and engage in a variety of activities designed to promote growth and development, and providing developmentally age appropriate activities that are based on individual abilities and interests.
Cabrera, who has a degree in Child Development, said the center's teachers are nurturing and responsive to needs of all the children and that a home atmosphere is provided that allows teachers to observe how each child's day is progressing. Accurate daily log books are used as one way of sharing information with parents about their child's day.
The center is open 6:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. Mondays through Saturdays.
For more information on the center visit www.kidz-care.com or call 523-KIDZ.
