Fundraising To Open An In-Home Daycare

Hi everybody! My name is Polly and I am trying to start a business to help my community. We are facing a nationwide childcare shortage as parents are returning to work from the pandemic, and families are desperate to find quality, affordable childcare for their kids. As a mom to a pretty fantastic 2 year old myself, it's heartbreaking to see so many of my fellow parents desperate for help with their kids. And I get it. I was put in the same position many parents are facing when I had my son in 2019, which is why I had to quit my job to stay home with him.

I am fortunate, in that I have over 12 years of early childhood experience, from working in licensed centers to being a nanny. This experience has greatly assisted me with creating lessons for the kids I watch currently, but it has also motivated me to positively influence the childcare system as a whole. I believe every child deserves the same opportunities to succeed, whether their parents and guardians can afford it or not. It's not okay to withhold resources and education from children because their parents don't have the means to give those resources. The fact that we do as a society is completely disheartening, and I would really like to help change that.

As a stay-at-home mom, I started watching the kids of my friends to help them with their childcare needs, so I could supplement some of my lost income. What started as one of many side hustles to make ends meet has not only become the beginning of my business, Polly's Preschool, but it's also become my whole life's mission. As I have been navigating my way through the very extensive state licensing process and getting the necessary approvals to open Polly's Preschool in my home so I can help my fellow parents, I have found that I can't get funding until I'm licensed, yet I need that funding to get my house ready to get licensed.

This is why I'm here, on GoFundMe. I need help. This past February, I had a public hearing with my city's planning commission, where I received approval to open Polly's Preschool, with the condition that it is consistent with the plans I presented to them. Since then, I have been diligently working on applying for grants because the basement of my house is currently unfinished, and I need it to be finished so that I can get licensed and open my business. I have exhausted all of my resources trying to make the basement as safe as possible for the kids to play currently, and I don't know where else to look. Unfortunately, I'm finding that organizations don't want to fund unlicensed providers, even if that means we need those funds so that we can get licensed.

It's infuriating. So I'm here.

I'm not asking for a lavish lifestyle. I'm asking for help to make my house safe, so I can open a much needed business for the sake of the children and families in my community. I have sold all of our furniture and our belongings, so that I can make room for our house to be used for the needs of our community. I have nothing else to give right now, except my time and energy, you guys. So I'm here, asking for your help to get my basement finished, so I can open my childcare program and help these families.

I just want to say thank you, in advance, for anything at all that you feel led to donate to get this started. Seriously, it means the world to me.