Tyson Foods donates funding to help employees with childcare
Tyson Foods announced on Tuesday that it has given funding to two Amarillo agencies to help give the company's employees easier access to childcare.
The company awarded $228,000 to the Wesley Community Center and $142,000 to the Maverick Boys and Girls Clubs of Amarillo to help cover childcare costs.
“This is bridging the gap between that area that we found that our team members needed. We need to support our team members in everything that they do. They come out and work very hard for us, this is one thing that’s going to help those team members become more productive, and provide for their families,” said Paul Finch, complex manager for the Tyson Amarillo plant.
“Some parents stay home to provide for daycare, now this is going to provide that and we’re going to pay the cost,” he added.
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According to Finch, this has been a two-year process in gathering the information and designing the program to best accommodate everyone involved.
The funding has allowed the childcare facilities to provide transportation for the children, increased security, commercial refrigerators, tutoring, and cots to sleep on until their parents are able to get them after work. The funding allows for each organization to accommodate up to 40 children, officials said.
According to officials with the childcare organizations, this program is especially important because it allows for parents who are working B shifts with Tyson Foods — those working the hours of 3 p.m. to 1 a.m. — to have a reliable resource for childcare while they are at work.
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“We have been working on this project for childcare after hours for years...the world has just evolved and the normal family is not what were used to thinking of with a 9 to 5," said Donna Soria, CEO and executive director of the Maverick Boys and Girls Clubs of Amarillo. "The fact that Tyson saw the need and said 'let's just supply the funding so that those working the B shift have a place to send their children' — that’s a gamechanger for our city."
Single mother, college student, and full-time employee for Tyson Akella Duang spoke about the opportunity that this program has given her to know that her children are safe and secure, so that she can focus on work.
“I am a single mother of two. I hardly see my kids, ever, because I’m always working. Work and personal life just never balances out and I feel as if this is going to be such a great thing for a lot of us here at work. It's going to be good that, rest assured, my children are somewhere safe, somewhere where I know I don’t have to worry, and have that peace of mind as I do my job,” Duang said.
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Liz Rascón-Alaniz, executive director of Wesley Community Center, said the funding has allowed the facility to remodel its kitchen with safety measures to accommodate the additional children.
“We are extremely blessed to have the support of Tyson Foods," she said. "We have had a critical issue in our community for quite some time now, and so with their funding support, we are able to enact this and get this done as soon as possible."
According to Alaniz, the funding also allows for the South campus of the center to have a second shift from 6 p.m. to 1 a.m.
“This will just give the parents additional hours to have their children in a safe and structured environment, while we feed them and provide them anything that they need,” Alaniz said.
Both Maverick and Wesley officials said they hope that other companies will join Tyson in providing childcare for their employees.
The program is projected to be open for the Maverick Dec. 1 and Wesley in the spring, after renovations have been completed.
This article originally appeared on Amarillo Globe-News: Tyson donates funding to help employees with childcare
