Helping childcare providers succeed both personally and professionally is at the heart of the work being done by Providers Need Care, a nonprofit organization serving Riverside and San Bernardino counties.
The Inland Empire-based organization focuses on supporting childcare professionals while strengthening the communities they serve. A recent grant awarded through the Inland Empire Community Foundation’s CIELO Fund is helping expand those efforts by increasing access to quality childcare services in underserved and minority communities throughout the region.
“Considering the decrease in funding to nonprofits over the last year, this grant is a miracle, and we are more than grateful,” said Yvonne Choyce, founder and CEO of Providers Need Care.
According to Choyce, the funding has allowed the nonprofit to reach more participants and broaden opportunities for childcare providers, particularly within Latino communities.
“This funding represents an opportunity to continue investing in our children, families and communities,” she said. “The support has allowed us to grow participation in our programs over the last year, leading to a successful increase in Latino providers and business owners.”
She said the impact extends beyond the providers themselves. As childcare businesses become more sustainable and successful, they are better positioned to serve families and meet growing childcare needs within their neighborhoods.
“That, in turn, strengthens their sustainability and ability to expand access to much-needed childcare services within their own communities,” Choyce said. “That’s an important impact, especially right now.”
The grant arrives at a critical time for many Spanish-speaking families and childcare providers who continue to face financial and structural barriers. Choyce believes investments like this can create lasting change.
“This is a major investment in childcare, and it changes lives,” she said.
Reliable childcare plays a vital role in helping parents remain in the workforce while ensuring children receive quality care and early learning opportunities. Programs supported through grants such as those distributed by the Inland Empire Community Foundation also help address ongoing childcare shortages across the region.
Providers Need Care was founded three years ago, but the inspiration behind the organization began much earlier.
Before launching the nonprofit, Choyce operated a home-based childcare business for more than two decades. Several years ago, she was recruited by a Women’s Business Center to train aspiring childcare providers who were looking to start their own businesses.
As she worked with those entrepreneurs, she began noticing something troubling.
“They asked me to train providers based on a grant they had, and these were startups,” Choyce recalled. “In the middle of that second cohort, I started hearing a lot and seeing a lot of red flags.”
Many of the women she encountered were struggling with the aftermath of the pandemic, including job losses, family hardships and financial instability.
“A lot of them were starting a business because they needed a fresh start,” Choyce said. “I didn’t feel right training them to take care of children when they themselves were carrying so much.”
She said that realization sparked an idea that eventually became the organization’s name and mission.
“I had this overwhelming feeling that I needed to do more than just train them on how to get licensed,” she said. “It just came to me that providers need care.”
Soon afterward, Providers Need Care was established and has continued to expand its reach across the Inland Empire.
One of the organization’s strongest areas of focus is self-care. Choyce believes childcare providers often spend so much time caring for others that they neglect their own well-being.
“We do a lot of self-care training because of all the challenges providers face,” she said. “Every year we hold a retreat where they can take a step back and allow us to care for them for a day. That’s really important to me.”
Choyce credits much of the nonprofit’s success to the professionals who believed in the mission from the beginning. In the early days, financial resources were limited, but many facilitators agreed to participate because they believed in the organization’s purpose.
“I started recruiting facilitators from within the industry,” she said. “I told them there wasn’t going to be much money, but I needed them to believe in the dream. They did.”
Looking ahead, Providers Need Care plans to continue expanding its services, including business counseling, professional development training, compliance support, resource sharing and wellness programs designed specifically for childcare professionals.
“We want to equip providers with all the right tools and knowledge they need for success,” Choyce said.
More information about the organization can be found at providersneedcare.org.
The Inland Empire Community Foundation works to strengthen communities throughout Inland Southern California through philanthropic partnerships and community investment. Its CIELO Fund, established in 2022, supports initiatives that empower Latino communities through education, leadership development, capacity building and community-based programs. Additional information is available at iegives.org.
Source: Information provided by Providers Need Care and the Inland Empire Community Foundation.
