When the 4-month-old child of Cherly Thompson stopped breathing one day in 2007, the staff at Kiwanis Day Care responded quickly.
Thompson, of Huntington said her son, Kaleb Irick, was born with congenital heart disease, and since his surgery Kiwanis Day Care staff has assisted with his developmental needs.
"Their workers are very well-trained, very professional in the way they maintain themselves with all the children," Thompson said.
She said it is a challenge for the day care staff to give attention to all the children and at the same time provide a curriculum for a special-needs child.
United Way has given funding to Kiwanis Day Care since 1950. The day care provides for 78 children yearly, and without the help of United Way, many of them would have to be turned away.
Patti Nelson, director of Kiwanis Day Care, said the funds are used to cover the actual tuition cost.
"I wouldn't be able to take in as many children and I wouldn't be able to operate a fully functional day care," she said. "I wouldn't be able to provide the quality service that we provide. I would have to cut back on the number of staff and the number of kids, which would make the waiting list twice as long."
United Way gives Kiwanis Day Care $34,080 yearly to help cover tuition costs. Nelson said without the funds given to them by United Way she would ultimately have to charge parents more.
"The difference between what we actually charge and what it actually costs us, that difference in fees is what the money from United Way is used toward," Nelson said.
She said United Way used to give them $64,000 a year and now the day care has to manage with nearly half that amount.
"The money doesn't cover furnishing, repairing, equipment, toys and the supplies that the children use, like the paint, the paper and the pencils, which is everything it takes to run a quality day care," Nelson said.
She said the day care provides services for children with special needs by having a speech therapist, occupational therapist and nutritionist.
"Rather than the parent having to go to work all day and then having to deal with a speech therapist coming to their home at night, which cuts into their quality time, a speech therapist can come here and provide services to a child during the day," Nelson said.
Amy Snodgrass can be contacted at snodgrass17@marshall.edu.
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