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Jun 27, 2022
Hello, Texoma!
We are thrilled to share with you another installment in our ongoing series highlighting THF grantees. These organizations make a powerful impact within our community in their own distinctive ways. You can directly support their services by giving to THF’s Community Fund. When THF receives a donation to the community fund, 100% of those funds go back to the community to support the area’s greatest needs. Thank you for helping us make a difference right here in Texoma – every single day.
The THF Team
In 1979, the Methodist Church in Madill, Oklahoma opened a daycare center for the children of working moms. A shortage of affordable, quality daycare options in the area led to rapid growth for the center, to the point there were simply too many children to be housed inside the church building.
A gentleman in the community heard about the desperate need for a dedicated building to house the daycare center. He generously donated the funds needed for the construction of a brand new building. The daycare center was aptly renamed for the donor’s wife, the Fran Drummond Daycare Center.
Desiring to provide more than just childcare, but truly invest in child development and early education, the staff and board of the center worked with Dr. Draper to develop a curriculum for the early childhood center. The Fran Drummond Daycare Center was licensed through the state and became one of the first in the state to offer an early childhood education four-year-old program.
The center’s program became the model for the State of Oklahoma. The State incorporated the program and even provided teachers and staff until Oklahoma was able to open an early childhood center through the public school system.
Now, more than 40 years later, the since-renamed Madill Community Daycare Center, provides quality, affordable care, and early childhood education to children as young as six weeks. “Tuition is kept at a point where it’s affordable for parents,” says Chris Bradshaw, Board President. “But it’s been a struggle. Childcare in general is expensive. We try to manage it in a way that we can keep our private pay at a reasonable cost and not tax parents with the cost of necessary building improvements or equipment.”
To keep up with building maintenance, growth, and improvement, the Madill Community Daycare Center relies on donations from the community. “I can’t say enough about the organizations and foundations that have contributed to funding our various projects,” Bradshaw says. “If it wasn’t for you, we wouldn’t be able to keep our doors open and maintain the quality of the center that we are trying to maintain. We want to provide a safe educational facility that parents can trust.”
Bradshaw, who has his doctorate degree, has served on the center’s board for more than 30 years, since his own children were young. “Life is a lifelong educational journey,” he says. “I think education is important and it starts at an early age. We need to be learning something new all the time, and if we can inspire that in kids, that’s one of the greatest gifts we can pass on to the younger generation.”
The center aims to employ high-caliber staff who will continually work to improve the quality of education provided to their students. “Our staff works hard and has excelled at keeping within DHS guidelines while providing an exceptional place for young children to come, learn and develop.” says Bradshaw. Operations at the Madill Community Daycare Center are overseen by Karen Carter, Director, and Erica Sanchez, Assistant Director and Master Teacher.
In Marshall County, there is a need for daycare services for about 200 children. The Madill Community Daycare Center can currently accommodate just 96 students. “We would like to grow our center, but we can’t do that without the help of our donors,” Bradshaw says.
For more information on how you can support the Madill Community Daycare Center, contact the center directly at 580-795-5030. If you would like to donate to the THF Community Fund or learn more about Texoma Giving Partners visit www.texomagivingpartners.org.
