Childcare
Honey Bear Tree Child Care Center
4881 S. Acoma Street, Englewood, Colorado
“Children are not a distraction from more important work. They are the most important work.”
A child care center is a sacred place. It is a place that not only provides care for children, but a support system that for many becomes a family. It is a place where, in the words of Nancy Elliott, Ministry Director at Honey Bear Tree, “Someday these children will remember all the people who loved them and helped raise them.”
Honey Bear Tree is a neighborhood child care center that began in 1962. It was originally founded to care for the children who attended Calvary Baptist Church. The neighborhood around the church was located on the far edge of Littleton and fairly financially affluent in 1962. The surrounding neighborhood has shifted over the decades. Honey Bear Tree continues to care for children and families who live in the neighborhood, many from a single care-giver home.
Honey Bear Tree provides day care for toddlers and pre-K. They support Clayton Elementary, the neighborhood school, to care for children in K-6 before and after school. Preschool and before and after school care is available at nearby schools or other child care centers, but the obstacles of finances or schedules make them inaccessible to many families. Honey Bear Tree provides care for children from 6:30am – 6:00pm at half the cost of many other child care centers. The hours and cost are critical factors for families working extended hours or with limited financial resources.
Honey Bear Tree provides care for children at a reduced financial cost because of a dedicated partnership with Calvary Englewood. Calvary Englewood generously provides the facility and utilities at no cost. The church not only invests into keeping the facility up to code, but partners with providing reading therapy and counseling for the children and families. The partnership between Honey Bear Tree and Calvary Englewood is a beautiful and tangible illustration of the instruction of Jesus to, “Love your neighbor as yourself.”
Honey Bear Tree has staff who have been there for over 20 years. Their love of the children and care for their families are the foundation the child care center operates on. They talk about children, now in their 20’s, who attended Honey Bear Tree decades ago with delight. The consistent challenge Honey Bear Tree faces is finding staff. The staff hope retired parents or grandparents would join them in caring for children at Honey Bear Tree or other places caring for children and creating a family.
Honey Bear Tree is a child care center where children are seen, known, and loved. The child care center is a sacred place.
