Northmont Area Chamber of Commerce members Dawna Remencus (left) and Tony Thomas (right) hold the ribbon as Sparkle Hayes cuts it in half during the official ribbon cutting ceremony for Sparkle’s Family Time.
Ron Nunnari | Register-Herald
ENGLEWOOD — After operating a childcare center from home for several years, Sparkle Hayes has opened ‘Sparkle’s Family Time Child Care Center’ at 50 Hillside Court, off W Wenger Rd., in Englewood (first street on the right going downhill from Taywood Road).
Sparkle’s Family Time is a childcare and preschool program and serves children from six weeks to 12-years-old.
“We offer drop in care and specialize in children with behavioral issues,” Hayes said. “We started the program for children that need care outside of traditional hours that aren’t always available.”
Hayes said that when she was attending college she worked two jobs and if her parents weren’t available to care for her children, she couldn’t go to classes.
“So, it was very important to me to go back to school and get my degree so that I could help children of all ages,” Hayes said.
She thanked her parents for helping her to get to where she is now. Her mother helped to design the interior of the new facility and also worked to assist with childcare while the facility was getting prepared to open.
Hayes originally had a home-based childcare facility, but quickly outgrew that space and moved into a facility previously occupied by the Ohio Sleep & Pulmonary Center.
Hayes also credited her best friend Danielle, who helped out a lot with getting the facility ready. Her father did all the hard, heavy lifting.
“I want to thank all my friends and family for helping out so much,” Hayes said. “The Northmont Area Chamber of Commerce supported me throughout the whole process, so thank you to Angie (Angela Clifford) and everybody that came to help us out.”
Hayes also thanked the families that have reached out to her for their childcare needs.
“We have been in business in Englewood for three years and the majority of the families that we serve have been with us the entire time, so I want to thank them for staying with us and trusting my process and my vision,” Hayes stated.
“Thank you to my employees because I could not do this by myself,” Hayes said. “I can’t work seven days a week and 14 to 16 hours a day, so without you guys it wouldn’t be possible.”
She also thanked her children and then broke down crying. She noted that they had to make sacrifices when she ran her childcare facility out of her home.
“My home was tied up for three years, so we never got any alone time at home, so we finally got our home back, but we just want to thank everybody,” Hayes added. “If you have children please come drop in and see us.”
Contact Sparkle’s Family Time at (937) 470-1543.
Reach Ron Nunnari at [email protected].
