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Twice as special: Alicia Lopez Child Care receives two awards in one week

Columbus Telegram - 6/4/2023

Jun. 3—Kids, Alicia Lopez of Alicia Lopez Child Care said, are the best part of her job and why she has done it for over 25 years. She loves working with them.

"It's the kiddos. I know the kids that are in my care are safe, I know they're being fed and taken care of that's why I do what I'm doing," Lopez said.

That love for the children under her care and desire to see them grow is apparently very noticeable to the children's parents, as many nominated her for the Nebraska Early Childhood Collaborative (NECC) and We Care for Kids' Early Childhood Champion award.

The award, which is presented to two providers a month over the course of the year, is chosen based on nominations and votes by parents and community members who know the provider.

"NECC basically had a thing on Facebook and a lot of my parents, old parents, current parents, they go in and vote for you and it was just by those families voting for me is how I won," Lopez said.

Kara Ficke, campaign manager for We Care for Kids, said nominations and votes come from individuals who the recipient has made a significant positive impact on. Child care professionals, experts and educators are all eligible.

"Alicia's nomination stood out because of her dedication to providing quality child care and early learning in Columbus for over 20 years, and for the relationships she has built with families," Ficke said.

Lopez got her start in child care very young, she said. Babysitting for a long time, she decided to keep going with what she knew and loved. Twenty-five years later, she has been recognized for her efforts by not just NECC and We Care for Kids, but the Columbus Area United Way as well.

"I did it to stay home with my own children, now my children are grown and gone and I'm still doing it," Lopez said.

Lopez was honored for her and her day care's efforts in child abuse awareness and prevention for the United Way's Wear Blue Day on April 5 in the child care provider category.

Wear Blue Day is a United Way campaign where businesses, schools and child care providers post a photo of their teams/classes wearing blue on the specified day and people vote for their favorite. Lopez got her kids involved even further than that.

"They do a thing now that — you wear blue, post your picture and people can go in and vote for you. My day care kiddos, we make a day of it, we wear blue, put up blue streamers and make a big day out of it," Lopez said.

Lopez's facility is the first child care center to be named for this honor and will keep the plaque until next year's winner is announced. Lopez said both of these awards are very meaningful to her as a child care provider.

"To be honest, it's huge. I'm actually seeing I'm being noticed for what I'm doing and I feel like I must be doing a good job, my parents are basically the ones who got me these awards, my day care's always full and the kids are always happy," Lopez said.

As for what it takes to take care of 10 children on a daily basis, being able to roll with whatever comes her way are the key, Lopez said.

"You will never have the same day twice, every day is always different and you have to have lots of patience," Lopez said.

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(c)2023 the Columbus Telegram (Columbus, Neb.)

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