Agape Love Child Care Center opens its doors: New Motor City Match business brings quality education and care to Detroit's east side

• Agape Love Child Care Center celebrates its grand opening as the 170th Motor City Match business
• Founded by Detroit resident Sheri Williams, the center evolved from an in-home service to a brick-and-mortar facility in the Morningside neighborhood
• The business received an $80,000 Motor City Match grant, partnered with Matrix Early Head Start for expansion and plans to hire six new teachers
• Motor City Match has awarded $19.1M in cash grants; 85% of overall winners are minority-owned businesses, 70% are women-owned and 67% are owned by Detroit residents

Agape Love Child Care Center celebrated its grand opening with a ribbon-cutting ceremony today, attended by Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan, City dignitaries and community supporters. This new childcare facility, the 170th Motor City Match business to open, was created to be a safe, healthy and developmentally appropriate environment for children to learn and grow.

Established by Detroit resident Sheri Williams, Agape Love Child Care Center originated as an in-home childcare service and has morphed into its brick-and-mortar location in Detroit's Morningside neighborhood, offering wrap-around services. This couldn't come at a better time - a 2023 U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation report found that Michigan's economy took a $2.88 billion hit due to a lack of childcare options. Agape Love is stepping up to help fill this gap while making a real difference for local families.

"The name (Agape) came from God's unconditional love that he gave his son, so our motto here is 'love is our guide, and learning is fun.' If love is our guide, we're going to be patient, gentle, kind and nurturing; we're going to be all those characteristics of love," said Williams. "If they feel loved and cared for, then they're going to thrive more, listen more, develop more, grow more, and they're going to have a healthy self-esteem."

Agape Love Child Care Center owner Sherri Williams give Mayor Mike Duggan a tour of her new facility, which is now the 170th Motor City Match business to open in Detroit.

Agape Love Child Care Center can care for children from six weeks to five years old and strongly focuses on literacy and the arts. According to Williams, art is a universal language for children, allowing them to convey their thoughts and emotions about the world, particularly when verbal expression proves challenging. She also ensures that every child in her facility participates daily in activities to improve literacy. Williams reports that Agape Love Child Care is currently the only five-star rated facility by Great Start to Quality (GSQ) in the 48224 zip code.

The center's partnership with Matrix Early Head Start was instrumental in its expansion from a home-based operation to the current facility. This collaboration enabled Agape Love Child Care Center to recruit staff, acquire new educational materials and provide ongoing employee professional development. The partnership has been crucial in enhancing both the center's resources and its staff's expertise.

"What Sheri has accomplished here is exactly what we're aiming for in Detroit. She's taken her passion for childcare, combined it with the support from programs like Motor City Match and Matrix Early Head Start and created something truly special for our community," said Duggan. "This isn't just a business - it's a place where our youngest Detroiters will learn, grow and thrive. That's the kind of investment in our future that makes our city stronger."

The childcare provider, located at 16225 E Warren, received an $80,000 grant from Motor City Match, which assisted with construction costs. Currently, Agape Love Child Care Center has 22 students enrolled and a capacity of 43. Eligible families may access subsidized childcare services based on their financial circumstances. With six staff members, including four Detroiters, Williams wants to increase her staff and hire six new teachers.

Agape Love Child Care Center becomes the fourth Motor City Match recipient over the past year to open in the resurging Morningside neighborhood, joining Terri's Cakes, Morningside Café and Next Chapter Books.

"Sheri's journey from providing home-based childcare to a brick-and-mortar facility is inspiring, and because of her, we have the creation of an essential service that provides a loving and nurturing environment for children in and around the community," said Sean Gray, vice president of Small Business Services at the Detroit Economic Growth Corporation, responsible for managing the Motor City Match program. "Her establishment underscores the invaluable impact small businesses can have on our neighborhoods."

Through 27 rounds of Motor City Match:

• Total cash grants: $19.1 million (Total leveraged investment: $102.7 million)
• 85 percent are minority-owned businesses
• 70 percent are women-owned businesses
• 67 percent are businesses owned by Detroit residents

About Motor City Match

Motor City Match is a unique partnership between the City of Detroit, the Detroit Economic Growth Corporation (DEGC), the Economic Development Corporation of the City of Detroit (EDC) and the U.S. Department of the Treasury through the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA). Competitive financial assistance is supported by a broad partnership of Southeast Michigan community development financial institutions and corporations including, Bank of America, Fifth Third Bank, Ford Foundation, Hudson Webber Foundation, JPMorgan Chase & Co., Knight Foundation, The Kresge Foundation, New Economy Initiative, and the W.K. Kellogg Foundation. Motor City Match applications are available quarterly. More information is available at MotorCityMatch.com.

Agape Love Child Care Center Owner Sherri Williams thanks Motor City Match and the other partners who helped bring her dream to life.

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