GARDEN GATE TEAM: (From left) Tari Patterson, Janice Tyson, Program Director Holly Simmerson, Gayle Bachmann and Jackie Peters
Garden Gate Montessori Honored with Family Friendly Award
LACASA Center’s CAP (Child Abuse Prevention) Council partnered with the Hartland Area Chamber of Commerce to recognize a Hartland Area business for going out of its way to enhance the lives of its employees and their families.
Holly Naylor, CAP Council coordinator, presented the 2016 Family Friendly Award to Garden Gate Montessori Thursday, February 9, 2017, at the Hartland Area Chamber of Commerce awards dinner.
“The CAP Council knows that strong, healthy families make for strong, healthy communities,” said Naylor. “We want to publically recognize Garden Gate Montessori as one of the businesses in our community that has demonstrated a commitment to supporting its employees and their families.”
The Family Friendly Award winner is selected from employees’ nomination letters that describe how their employer offers unique programs or benefits that are especially helpful to employees with families, supports families during times of crisis, provides a work environment that enables employees to focus on family needs, and encourages employees to make family the number one priority in their lives.
Garden Gate Montessori was honored for its ‘home away from home’ philosophy, where employees and their families feel welcomed, encouraged and supported. At Garden Gate, employees have access to flexible scheduling, childcare discounts, staff and family events throughout the year, and management and staff who come together to support each other in times of need.
“CAP received four separate nomination letters for Garden Gate. Every single one was heartfelt, and spoke about how their workplace supports them in every way and truly feels like a family,” said Naylor. “In her nomination letter, Gayle Bachmann wrote, ‘I know that everyone who works here has each other’s backs not only through the hard times in life, but also we embrace each other during the good times.’ This is what the Family Friendly Award is all about,” Naylor said.
For additional information on the Family Friendly Award or programs and services available through the CAP Council, please contact LACASA at (517) 548-1350.