Parent Spotlight: Brenden Barclay

One example is Brendon Barclay of Clarkston, who was laid off in June from his job as a graduation coach for the Atlanta Public Schools. In that position, Barclay had counseled at-risk high school students. When he lost his job, Barclay considered taking his four-year-old son Bryce out of the Scottdale Child Development Center – even though he and his wife love the NAEYC-accredited program. Barclay’s wife works as a legal secretary and they have three children. The couple felt they just couldn’t afford the $130 a week price without two incomes.

Then, someone at the center told the Barclays about QCC’s program. The couple applied and were able to receive enough funds to cover 14 weeks of child care, plus a four-week extension.

“It was tremendous help,” Barclay said. “It kept him in a consistent and caring environment. We really love Scottdale – they have an excellent program. Bryce is learning his letters – he definitely knows B for Bryce – and his numbers and is starting to write. He plays a lot and has good social development.”

Barclay is now executive director of a nonprofit he started, Sustaining Urban Villages, which advocates for urban forests. He recently helped build an outdoor classroom at an elementary school.

Thanks to generous support from the Joseph B. Whitehead Foundation and Newell Rubbermaid, a total of 400 children were able to access emergency child care assistance during fiscal year 2009.

The Emergency Child Care program is now in its 23rd year. It was started by the Junior League of Atlanta and later adopted by QCC. Since that time, thousands of families have received help paying for child care and resolving their crises. They include hurricane evacuees, people facing overnight hospital stays with no one to care for their children, and single parents starting a new job with no money to care for their children until the first paycheck arrives.