Pictured left to right are: Senator Hillary Clinton, Acre Family Day Care Provider Marea Washington, the Ms. Foundation's Director of Programs Anna Wadia, Executive Director Sara K. Gould, and Marie Wilson, President.

The Ms. Foundation for Women accepted the Presidential Award for Excellence in Microenterprise Development on February 16, 2001 in Washington, D.C.

National honors for day-care owner  

Boston Globe

January 28, 2001

Lowell -- Marea Washington, a 28-year-old single mother of four children, stood beside Hillary Clinton earlier this month and was honored for her business savvy and acumen for working with children.

"It was amazing, once in a lifetime," Washington said of meeting Clinton. "When I met her, I was the only person there representing child care. She said that the job that I do is very important. She said to keep up the good work, and it meant a lot coming from her."

Washington was invited to attend a ceremony for the Ms. Foundation, which received the Presidential Award for Excellence for Microenterprise Development on Jan. 16 in Washington. The Ms. Foundation is a long-time sponsor of the Acre Family Day Care's home day care training program in Lowell, where Washington is an example of its success.

A three-year welfare recipient after her second child was born, Washington decided she would rather work than take government checks.

"I heard about this program that Acre was doing to help women get off welfare and start their own businesses from home," she said.

Most states do not require training to run a home-based child-care center. Acre is unusual in that it requires 240 hours of training and offers technical support and continuing education so its clients can enroll in college courses or English-as-a-second-language classes. Acre also offers child-care providers support in caring for more challenging children.

Now Washington is running Precious Moments Family Day Care from her apartment. She has four children of her own, ages 8, 7, 3, and 4 months, and she takes in another eight children for child care. Four are part time. Another four are there full time.

In her first year, 1998, Washington made $14,000 in business revenue, but last year that figured climbed to more than $30,000. She serves on Acre's board of directors and offers respite care for foster children on the weekends. She also plans to take early childhood development classes at Middlesex Community College in Lowell.

Washington is participating in an Acre program that allows her to save $25 a month, matched by $75 from public and private resources, to save enough money for a down payment on a house. Washington, who grew up in a household with several disabled children, said she hopes to care for more physically disabled children when she has a house with a handicapped-access ramp.

Last year, Acre received the US Small Business Administration Vision 2000 Model of Excellence Award, and in 1998, the program won the Gloria Steinem Women of Vision Award.