OLATHE, Kan. — According to the Center for American Progress, more than 50 percent of Americans have few or no options for licensed daytime care for kids.
As the demand for childcare continues to rise, Kids 'R' Kids of Olathe is celebrating a milestone.
"We could not have predicted where we are today," Russ Robinson, Co-Owner of Kids 'R' Kids of Olathe, said.
After opening in 1999, Robinson and his wife never thought they'd see the success they have over the years.
"It was a struggle 20 years ago and at times we thought about giving up," Robinson said.
Friday, the childcare center celebrated 20 years of success - a milestone Robinson said many other centers are unable to reach.
"One of the state inspectors told me one time that 70 percent of the day cares that open in a year, fail within a year," she said.
Over the course of two decades, Kids 'R' Kids of Olathe had two main goals.
"To offer an education program that really made a difference," Robinson said. "The second thing was to build a sense of community and to build a sense of family."
After moving into a larger facility nearly three years ago, the center continues to be on track with its mission.
Friday, hundreds of people were invited to the center to celebrate students, both past and present.
"I came here when I was about 9 or 10 years-old and I did the summer camp program," Lacey Nevius, curriculum coordinator at Kids 'R' Kids of Olathe, said.
"Well I went here when I was 3 and then all of my siblings went here and then I came back when I was 16 to work here," Sophia Solbert, a teacher at Kids 'R' Kids of Olathe, said.
The center is licensed for 250 children. Currently, 225 are enrolled and the center has 45 employees on staff.
