This story has been updated because an earlier version included an inaccuracy.
SHEBOYGAN – A Million Dreamz has pressed forward to finish remaining classroom spaces, invest in its teaching staff and open 24/7 since it reached a $1.8 million fundraising goal last year.
Angel Berry, executive director of A Million Dreamz, said upgrades to a kitchen area at the nonprofit child care center, 415 Euclid Ave., are slated to finish by Dec. 1, alleviating challenges providing three snacks and three meals a day with only a toaster oven and hot plate.
The Fairy Forest room, already sponsored by Ashley Kohler, and the Whoville room will also be added. The gross motor skills room, a jungle-themed Wiggle Room, holds indoor playground equipment ready to be installed, too.
Renovated restrooms, a staff lounge, laundry area offering blankets and back-up clothing and a meeting room for staff training and neighborhood association meetings are in use.
A Million Dreamz has 10 classrooms serving about 136 kids a month, roughly the same as this time last year. Berry said that’s down from the summer months.
“We’ve been open less than three years and you wouldn’t know it walking in,” Berry said. “I feel like I’ve been here forever. It’s really vibrant and playful and busy, which is fantastic.”
The child care center has continued investing in staff, offering in-house scholarship opportunities and welcoming six junior apprentices from local high schools this semester.
A Million Dreamz is also still working toward securing funds for a flex-rate program to help families pay for child care costs. This could assist with families facing a “benefit cliff” — they don’t qualify for state assistance for child care but don’t make enough to cover the costs.
“I’ve got a lot of dreams. One million of them,” Berry said. “We still got room to grow, and we’ve got bigger and better things that we want to bring on.”
Child care center could be open 24/7 next year
A Million Dreamz is still open 5 a.m. to midnight seven days a week, and Berry is hopeful the center’s dream of expanding to 24/7 service could become a reality in 2026.
That is dependent on staffing.
A Million Dreamz is dealing with staffing issues like other Wisconsin child care facilities, and Berry said the center needs kitchen staff and is always hiring teaching staff. Third shift is a more challenging matter, though, because she needs to make sure the right staff are in place and there’s enough shift coverage.
“People have to stay awake while everybody else in the room is sleeping, and that’s tough,” Berry said. “We’re just not going to open it until we’re absolutely solid, so that we never have to backtrack.”
There is current availability for families seeking care during second shift. Berry is enrolling kids, and the waitlist has dropped to about 169 kids. More than 180 kids are enrolled, with 10 classrooms open during first shift and two classrooms open during second shift.
Concern persists that less direct financial support for child care providers could lead to closures
Financial support is important for any nonprofit, but Berry said child care centers like A Million Dreamz are facing a financial crisis worse than before with the end of Child Care Counts, a program funded by the American Rescue Plan Act to stabilize the child care industry during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Before the program ended in June, more than $630 million was distributed to about 5,000 child care providers in the state since it started, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported.
The Child Care Bridge Payment Program will replace CCC, part of $360 million in the 2025-2027 budget allocated toward the industry and lowering costs. $110 million will be distributed in direct payments to providers through June 2026 from interest income on ARPA funds, significantly less than the $480 million Gov. Tony Evers’ requested to continue the program.
“I declared 2025 the Year of the Kid in Wisconsin, and ensuring this budget made real, meaningful investments directly in child care providers statewide was a nonnegotiable for me,” Evers said in a statement about the Child Care Bridge Payment Program. “I’m proud our final budget makes this critical investment to continue our work to provide direct support to our state’s child care professionals who go above and beyond to ensure our kids have the high-quality care they need and deserve.”
Berry, among child care providers in the state, is concerned the big win celebrated by lawmakers is a temporary fix and will lead to more closures because there is less financial support for the industry.
“We’re really watching and making sure that we don’t lose any more child care spots because there’s still not enough,” Berry said. “And at A Million Dreamz, we really believe that partnership throughout the child care industry is how we’re going to succeed moving forward.”
How to donate and volunteer at A Million Dreamz
Brenda Potter donated a million dollars to A Million Dreamz last year. This helped the organization become debt free. Fundraising momentum has continued, including a carnival fundraiser that raised $12,000 last year and more than $20,000 this year.
The child care center is still seeking donations and volunteers to help with painting classrooms. Needed wish list items include size 4 and 5 diapers; sizes 2-6 potty training underwear; printer paper; construction paper; and Play-Doh.
Learn more at amilliondreamz.org.
Contact Alex Garner at 224-374-2332 or agarner@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Sheboygan Press: 24/7 service, an indoor play area and more: A Million Dreamz still has big plans ahead
Reporting by Alex Garner, Sheboygan Press / Sheboygan Press
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