Family child care providers deliver a critical service, but too often their hard work is overlooked. Not so on May 10, when almost 250 providers, their families and friends came out for the UFT Family Child Care Provider Chapter’s second annual Provider Appreciation Awards Ceremony at union headquarters.

Fourteen providers were honored at the event, which took place one day after New York State’s Provider Appreciation Day.

“People don’t realize how much we do in the span of eight hours — everything from nutrition to educational planning to the actual execution of lessons and more,” said Chapter Chair Tammie Miller, the evening’s mistress of ceremonies.

UFT Vice President for Non-DOE Members Anne Goldman, who won the evening’s Organizing and Building Union Strength Award, said that providers must be treated with respect. She credited the chapter’s executive board for its work representing and providing services to members and for winning fairer treatment for them.

Manhattan provider Daysi Vicioso, one of the honorees, captured the celebratory spirit of the evening. “I feel like I’m getting a Grammy,” she said as she accepted her award.

Janice Molnar, the deputy commissioner for child care services at the state’s Office of Children and Family Services, presented the chapter with a proclamation from Gov. Andrew Cuomo declaring May 9, 2014, as Provider Appreciation Day.

“By recognizing the dedication of child care providers, we reinforce our belief in the importance of quality child care and let providers throughout our state know that we recognize and value their important work,” it read in part.