An Emergency Childcare Is About To Shut Down!

Hi, my name is Ayumi, and I am a manager of an occasional daycare called Storybook Buddings. We opened our first location in 2011 as the first occasional daycare in Vancouver. We accept children from 18 months old to kindergarteners, and have a booking system for families to book hours, so they can send their children anytime they need. The age range helps families who return to work from their maternity leave because full-time daycare has a long waitlist. Even though we provide quality and educational programs that other full-time do, we are not subsidized because we are licensed as "Occasional Daycare" - that's "the rule." We closed the first location last September since it was tough to keep two centres without any financial support from the government. And we are now having difficulty keeping the other centre open. Unexpectedly, 40% of families cancelled our program this fall because they got a spot for full-time care, which is good for the families.

Our daycare owner, Talia Erickson, has been working so hard to pay all expenses and the staff, but we're about to reach the limit. We need your help to cover the shortfall, and then we can continue supporting families who need emergency care. We also operate a School-Age Program. I can't let both programs close this winter. There are also a lot of families who are waiting for their little ones to turn 18 months. Then, they can have a little break or go back to work. As an early childhood educator and a mom, I am passionate about supporting families by providing our childcare services.