By Javacia Harris Bowser | For The Birmingham Times
Inside a small building of a nondescript strip mall nestled in the heart of Hueytown, a dream is coming true.
After observing firsthand Alabama’s need for more high quality, affordable childcare options during her 17 years working with the Department of Human Resources, Crystal May dreamed of opening a childcare center. “I wanted to do something to prevent children from being in the system,” May said. “I don’t want to just be a babysitter because anybody can babysit. I want to develop kids.”
Now thanks to Women’s Foundation of Alabama’s (WFA) Advancing Alabama Childcare Accelerator, May’s vision is being realized. Her daycare, Little Royalties Child Development Center, is set to open in mid-September.
May is one of 12 members of the first cohort of this program, which is led by WFA in partnership with the United Way of Central Alabama and its Early Learning Acceleration Initiative and support from Childcare Resources and ASL Creative Strategies. With financial support from the partners, participants are awarded grants to help with the launch of their centers.
The brainchild of Zhaundra C. Jones, Vice President of Philanthropy and Learning at WFA, the accelerator is an 8-week program that focuses on the business side of owning a daycare facility with the goal of helping the owners’ open centers that can offer accessible quality services for parents and competitive wages for center workers.
“Comprehensively, what we’re really trying to do is focus on access, affordability, and workforce,” Jones said. “I felt like an accelerator would allow us to design something that would pour into these business owners and if we could also give them access to much needed infrastructure capital, we could do our part of this puzzle of addressing the childcare gap in the state.”
Alabama’s Childcare Gap
Even though 74 percent of Alabama families rely on a female breadwinner, Alabama has the 49th lowest female labor force participation rate in the nation. Research has shown that one of the key factors holding women back is lack of childcare. There is only enough of it available in Alabama to serve 44 percent of the state’s young children.
Statistics like this drive much of the work at WFA which seeks to accelerate economic opportunity for women by supporting legislation, research and philanthropy that promote gender and economic equity.
Too often, Jones said, childcare centers aren’t viewed as real businesses and so the owners of these facilities don’t get the resources they need. The Childcare Accelerator program seeks to change this.
“So many of [the program participants] said, ‘Thank you for taking the time to do this for us; this is the first time anyone has invested in me or my business,’” Jones said. “I think we all know that it makes a difference when people invest in you, when people signal to you that they believe in you. Seeing them as entrepreneurs, as business owners, as the community leaders that they are, I think, was also impactful. It impacts how they approach their work, how they deal with their parents and families. And then that gives moms and dads comfort to be able to go to work and give their best. It permeates and impacts the entire community.”
Lesson Plans
In addition to covering topics like childcare best practices and curriculum development, the program also taught participants about writing business plans, managing a facility (including playground construction and renovation innovations), human resources and much more.
May enjoyed learning about profit and loss statements, marketing strategies, and the importance of community engagement. “I know it was geared towards childcare, but what I learned in that class can take you on to any type of business,” she said.
When May gives a tour of her Hueytown facility, she exudes the excitement of a new homeowner and hopes the center will feel like a home away from home for the kids she will welcome. With walls painted in primary and pastel colors, the bright rooms at Little Royalties are filled with puppets, playsets and more to inspire the imaginations of little ones.
Whether pointing to a safari-themed room she’s quite proud of or the playground in progress behind the building, May made it clear that this is only the beginning. She’s already dreaming about the “state of the art” facility she wants to open after her first center is up and running, she said.
Little Royalties will have space for 75 students, ages 0 to 13, once it opens. For the older children she’ll offer after-school care and has already hired someone who’ll help with tutoring. May has a total of 11 employees and she’s certified to serve as a childcare provider too.
A Family Affair
May began leasing the building in October of 2023 and since January of 2024 she’s been at her facility nearly every day working toward her grand opening. The project has been a family affair. Her mother Lela, who once operated a home-based daycare center and worked with the Board of Education for years, is often on site to pitch in. May’s partner, Horatio, has been lending a helping hand too. And her children — Ashton, 13, Aiden, 10, and Harlie, 4 – are often buzzing around the building.
When she was growing up, her father couldn’t read, May shared. This is more motivation for her business venture. She wants to encourage literacy in the children her center will care for as well as their parents. And she plans to name her center’s reading area “Henry’s Reading Room” after her father.
During the accelerator program, May also appreciated learning about the importance of businesses having unique selling propositions. What makes her center stand out from others? She’s just as committed to helping parents as she is to serving children.
In addition to the literacy resources May wants to provide for parents, she eventually hopes to have classes that will help parents earn their GED and learn about professionalism. She wants to help with finding and applying for job opportunities and even stock a closet of professional wear for job interviews.
“I’m developing future kings and queens,” she said.
Learn more about the Women’s Foundation of Alabama at wfalabama.org.
