After months of stress, ‘It’s Christmas!’
Donna’s Daycare owner and administrator Ladonna Miller recently reopened her Dayton family child care business after two months of dealing with insurance claims, construction, inspections and a lot of stress.
The reason behind the stress? On Sunday, Aug. 11, 2024, a car plowed through the front of her house leaving a gaping hole where the living room once was. As a result, she had to temporarily close her business, which left the families and children in her care with no child care.
“These kids needed help,” Ladonna says as her eyes fill with tears. “These families struggled to find babysitters…because it’s hard to trust someone with your kid.”
Ladonna provides 24-hour care, seven days a week for 32 children and employees four staff. On a typical Sunday, there would have been at least eight children in her home, with several napping in the living room. Fortunately, on Aug. 11 she closed the child care program to prepare for the first day of preschool classes. While shopping for supplies on that day the doorbell camera rang on her phone. Upon opening the app she saw her neighbor.
“All I saw was debris behind him, she remembers. When she asked what was on the ground, he replied: “It’s a car in your house, ma’am.” Luckily, no one was in the house when the driver lost control.
As she reopens and welcomes back her employees and dozens of children, she looks back at the struggles from the past two months. The rebuilding process has been filled with planning and building as well as multiple local and state inspections.
To reopen and start caring for children as soon as possible she opted to foot the bill for the repairs instead of waiting for insurance claims to be processed. She also paid her employees during the closure to ensure they can pay their bills.
She also received a little help from 4C for Children. Along with our partner Enterprise Rent-a-Car and multiple other donors, 4C donated six bags of toys, coloring books and dress up items to Ladonna’s program. Looking at all the supplies, Ladonna said it was “just like Chrismas!”
Kristin McDermott is Ladonna’s coach and Ladonna describes her as an angel sent from 4C. But Kristin says it’s just nice to give back to a provider who is a bright light in the community.
“Ladonna is always looking for ways to support her families and community outside of the child care services she provides,” Kristin says. “When I saw what happened, I couldn’t wait until we could find a way to help her because she’s always giving and it was time for us to give back to her.”