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Cover Story Ontario’s Childcare Industry Putting Families First Is A Family Tradition at Bambi’s Castle in Timmins By: Andrea Hannen hen Georgia Gagnon first opened Bambi’s Castle W back in 1972, the concept of day care did not exist in Timmins. The community had just one nursery school, which provided two and a half hours of service on weekday mornings. Gagnon was painfully familiar with the challenge this posed for working families. As an operating room technician with three young children, she had gone through nine babysitters in one year, trying to find the quality and consistency of care she wanted for them. When she couldn’t find it, she created it. There’s no question that Gagnon was a visionary. She was determined to provide others with the support she had so wanted for herself. She opened her centre in defiance of many of the procedural barriers that existed at the time. When finding enough qualified staff to run the centre posed a problem, she pushed for the creation of an ECE program at Northern College. “She didn’t take no for an answer,” recalls her daughter Cynthia Gubbels, also an ECE. Increasing access to quality child care was Gagnon’s mission. She created unique programs and services and was unwavering in her advocacy for the sector. She was also a pioneer in terms of providing additional services that many centres still don’t attempt, including transportation, 12 ChildcareTODAY • WINTER 2008/2009 overnight care, special New Year’s Eve care and programming that embraces Aboriginal traditions. Not all of these efforts succeed. Some of them simply weren’t financially sustainable, but as Gubbels points out “it was this kind of energy and creativity that enabled my mother to find solutions to all kinds of problems.” When Gagnon suffered a stroke in 1995 and could no longer work in the centre everyday, Gubbels knew she had big shoes to fill. Gagnon continued to serve as a source of strength and insight for her daughter until a few months ago, when she passed away due to cancer. While Gubbels’ father, Larry Gagnon, has always had a successful career outside of the child care field, he devoted countless hours to the centre’s maintenance and financial management. Long-time supervisor, Lise Jalbert, who has worked with the family for over 25 years, has also been a tremendous source of support. With Gagnon at the helm, Bambi’s Castle had quickly become a vital part of the community. It continually grew and changed in response to demographic and economic shifts. Over the years, it operated various satellite locations in addition to the original Timmins facilities, including those in North Bay, Sturgeon Falls and Kapuskasing. From the very beginning, the Bambi’s Castle team took pride in the centre’s “When asked what advice she would offer other child care centre owners and managers, Gubbels reiterates the importance of having written policies and procedures in place, and communicating with staff to ensure the policies are understood and followed.” Cold hands, but warm hearts. Larry Gagnon and daughter Cynthia Gubbels brave winter’s chill. educational focus. Currently this focus is divided into five main areas: music; science and nature; English and French; cooking and nutrition; and physical fitness. Gubbels now runs Bambi’s Castle and teaches part-time in the ECE program at Northern College. Bambi’s Castle currently has one location, on Pine Street in Timmins. It employs a staff of ten and is located in a renovated building that was once a church and Minister’s residence. It offers full-day learning for toddlers and preschoolers, as well as before- and after-school programming for school age children. Recent improvements to the centre include a new playground structure and a totally refurbished lower level. Ironically, Gubbels never intended to work in child care. She originally had her sights set on psychometrics, but did earn a degree in child studies along the way. Did Gubbels make the right choice “When I see people who attended the centre when they were young now bringing their own children here, I definitely think so,” says Gubbels. “Bambi’s Castle was my mother’s dream,” she continues. “I attended the centre as a child and when I got older, I worked here
Ontario’s Childcare Industry every summer. My sisters have been involved in the centre at different times during their lives as well. One of the reasons I stayed on was that working with my mother gave me the flexibility to pursue other aspects of my career. Looking back on it, I think that was one of the things that helped keep me in the field. I’ve always felt privileged to have that kind of freedom.” Working as a family was not without its challenges, but those challenges seldom involved disagreements among the family members. “ My mother was really good at what she did,” says Gubbels. “She proved that everyday, so we really didn’t question it. We were more concerned with making sure we set a good example for the staff and that we were holding everyone, including ourselves, to the same high standards.” “My parents instilled a work ethic in us,” recalls Gubbels. “A lot of what we learned came from my parents discussing the day’s events at the dinner table each night. We saw how hard they worked to get everything we had. We saw how committed they were to putting the children’s interests first and that really stayed with us. We learned that everything counts.” As a college professor, Gubbels tries to impart these same values in her ECE students. “Sometimes they’ll arrive at class late and when I talk with them about it, they think it doesn’t matter because it’s only school. What they usually don’t realize is that many of the people they’ll meet during their schooling may eventually be their colleagues or employers. Of course, we pay attention to these behaviour patterns, because we know how important it is that child care staff be on time everyday.” Gubbels also credits her mother for putting in place the policies and procedures that kept Bambi’s Castle running smoothly during her illness and after her death. “She defined herself through her business accomplishments and was really passionate about child care and about providing a service to the community. She created clear, written policies to guide the staff and those policies have stood the test of time. Everything is in writing, because she wanted to elevate the standards of care people expect from licensed centres.” “Our supervisor, Lise, has done an excellent job implementing these policies and upholding the traditions my mother established,” adds Gubbels. “She truly is a leader and she knows what my mother would have wanted. Nothing escapes her notice and she’s consistent in everything she does.” When asked what advice she would offer other child care centre owners and managers, Gubbels reiterates the importance of having written policies and procedures in place, and communicating with staff to ensure the policies are understood and followed. She also emphasizes the importance of putting the families and children the centre serves first. “If you provide a warm, loving atmosphere for the families you serve, everything else follows. You and your staff should never be too busy to spend time greeting them in the morning or chatting with them at the end of the day.” Gubbels also notes the importance of being engaged in the community and in being an advocate for the families you serve. “My mother was sometimes a fixture at City Hall, talking with the Supervisor Lise Jalbert has been with Bambi’s Castle for over 25 years. CAO and explaining her situation to anyone else she knew could help her do what she wanted to do for the children in her care,” says Gubbels. “The road was long and difficult, but often she was able to win people over.” In later years, the City of Timmins publicly recognized Gagnon as a pioneer, for all of the work she did to advance the cause of subsidized child care. Gubbels adds: “As formidable as she was, my mother also recognized that sometimes we can’t advocate for things as effectively as individuals as we can as a group. She looked to ADCO to help with issues that were too big for us to tackle alone.” Learning to appreciate the natural world, the Bambi’s Castle school-age group enjoys a summer fishing trip. WINTER 2008/2009 • ChildcareTODAY 13
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