Provider Appreciation Awards Ceremony
About 400 members of the UFT Family Child Care Providers Chapter and their guests filled an elegantly outfitted Shanker Hall at union headquarters on May 9 to honor the extraordinary work that home-based child care providers do for children and their families at the 12th annual Provider Appreciation Awards Ceremony.
The union recognized more than 50 members as their loved ones looked on, bathed in the warm glow of centerpieces that sparkled like jewels.
“Few people are aware of the sacrifices that child care providers make,” Chapter Chair Tammie Miller said.
Miller (left), in her second outfit of the night, stands with the winners of the Noble Service Awards. These providers from the now-defunct Highbridge Network continued to serve children and families despite the fact that the network stopped paying them when it shut down unexpectedly. The union is fighting to get them the compensation they are owed.
She recalled how providers, during the pandemic, kept their doors open and maintained continuity of care for children, even at the risk of personal harm. “All of you, every single day, are unsung heroes,” she said.
Two dozen providers who once were part of the now-defunct Highbridge Network were honored with Noble Service Awards for continuing to serve children and families despite the fact that the network stopped paying them when it shut down unexpectedly. The UFT is fighting to get the city to make good on the over $500,000 they are owed.
“We are appreciative of the work that the Highbridge providers did in setting an example of what unselfishness looks like,” Miller said.
Noble Service Award-winner Kadidjatou Keita, who has owned a Bronx child care center for 13 years, said she didn’t want to treat parents the way that Highbridge had treated her and her colleagues.
Friends and family capture the joy of the evening by taking pictures of their loved ones being honored.
“The kids when they come to me are so happy and I’m happy with them,” said Keita, who has been waiting over a year to get the money she is still owed. “Some of them have been with me for so long. It would have been hard to tell them I could not take them.”
She is grateful for the union’s support and the honor. “We worked for so long without pay and it was not easy,” she said of herself and her fellow former Highbridge Network providers. “I’m happy the union is acknowledging us.”
The theme of the celebration was “Transforming Tomorrow: Excellence in Early Childhood Education.” UFT leaders and guest speakers highlighted the role child care providers play in safeguarding their families’ futures.
“You are the caretakers of their future,” UFT Secretary LeRoy Barr said. “Parents trust you. They trust you with what is most important to them.”
UFT Assistant Secretary Michael Sill, who was honored with the chapter’s Union Leadership Award, noted that child care providers also provide freedom to mothers and working families.
“The burden of raising a family so often falls predominantly on the mom,” said Sill. “You have increased the freedom of women in this city to go out and earn in whatever way they choose because of the work that you do.”
Outstanding Professional Services Award winner Altagracia Molina, who has owned a Brooklyn child care center for 13 years, said being honored by the union means a lot to her.
“This job is not easy,” Molina said in Spanish through an interpreter. “But for the union to acknowledge me, to fight for me, to be my voice — the voice for all providers — I’m very appreciative.”
