Childcare - EmBe

100-Year Sunday Story: 100 Years of EmBe

Mikena VanLiere2022-09-25T11:04:58-05:00

For the final Sunday Story, we’re bringing you 100 fun facts about EmBe from our last 100 years! The 1920s YWCA founder, Mabel Crossman, owned the state’s largest chicken hatchery with her husband, even though she was terrified of chickens. The YWCA was one of the first organizations to offer Kittenball leagues for women. Kittenball is the original name for softball. The first Camp Tepeetonka was on Lake Madison. One of the original classes of the YWCA was a cheese-tasting class. The YWCA offered a special one-on-one English class for immigrants attempting to learn the language. President Calvin Coolidge visited [...]

100-Year Sunday Story: 100 Years of EmBeMikena VanLiere2022-09-25T11:04:58-05:00

100-Year Sunday Story: The Name Change

Mikena VanLiere2022-09-16T10:52:55-05:00

On April 16, 2013, the Sioux Falls branch of the YWCA cut ties with the national organization and announced the new agency as EmBe. There were many reasons for the change, but ultimately, the organization wanted to be more connected and support and provide resources in the best possible way to the Sioux Falls community. When the name changed, it didn’t mean that the services had changed. After the switch, EmBe still provided all the services they did before, including childcare services, aquatics, Girls on the Run, Tribute to Women, and all other programs. By cutting ties with [...]

100-Year Sunday Story: The Name ChangeMikena VanLiere2022-09-16T10:52:55-05:00

EmBe CEO Column: September 2022

Mikena VanLiere2022-09-16T11:05:25-05:00

Celebrating the Undying Agents of Change Despite my fortunate upbringing in a mild-mannered, midwestern town, I frequently lack patience in the face of injustice. While polite discourse and temperance are values I’ve shared with countless friends, neighbors, and colleagues, we’ve collectively seen our patience wane in our individual pursuit of progress and impact. As the past two years further revealed our urgent need for systematic change and equitable solutions across all sectors of society and commerce, I notice my own persistence at my best, and impatience at my worst. Yet, there is no better time to allow the 100-year anniversary [...]

EmBe CEO Column: September 2022Mikena VanLiere2022-09-16T11:05:25-05:00

EmBe CEO Column: August 2022

Mikena VanLiere2022-08-10T10:08:31-05:00

Advancing Everyone’s Business Gratitude can be a difficult feeling for us to access under challenging circumstances and none seem to be as challenging as the childcare crisis impacting parents and providers today. As I take this time to reflect in the quiet, the stressful memories of the week dissipate, and scenes from our classrooms surface in their place. My mind goes to the moments where I watch teachers give their undivided attention to each student, the tears they shed as their students learn something new, and the sadness on their faces when a student progresses to a new room. Just [...]

EmBe CEO Column: August 2022Mikena VanLiere2022-08-10T10:08:31-05:00

The CEO Column: June 2022

Mikena VanLiere2022-06-20T11:10:38-05:00

Finding Hope Here We remember how much a human can bear in the wake of unthinkable tragedy. Every parent who celebrated the start of summer held the joy of their child’s achievement in tandem with the shared grief of parents in Texas. Every parent who dropped their child off for daycare bore the weight of uncertainty as each child who’s completed an active shooter drill may understand the uncertainty each day may hold. Couple the weight of our shared reality with the prolonged sense of uncertainty we’ve experienced over the last two years and the burden of these experiences may [...]

The CEO Column: June 2022Mikena VanLiere2022-06-20T11:10:38-05:00

Staff Spotlight: Jamie Farley – SAC Coordinator Harrisburg Liberty

Mikena VanLiere2022-04-19T15:53:20-05:00

Staff Spotlight: Jamie Farley, SAC Coordinator - Harrisburg Elementary Jamie Farley was looking for a fulfilling job that fit his skills and experience when he discovered a posting for the School Age Care Site (SAC) Coordinator position. “I quickly discovered that EmBe is a great organization to work for,” Jamie said. “You have great benefits and opportunities, but you get to make a daily impact in a child’s life. For some, it’s an influence that they may not have outside of EmBe.” Over four years later, Jamie is the SAC Site Coordinator at Liberty and recently expanded his responsibilities as a [...]

Staff Spotlight: Jamie Farley – SAC Coordinator Harrisburg LibertyMikena VanLiere2022-04-19T15:53:20-05:00

Staff Spotlight: Kayla Skufca, Lead Infant Teacher – Mitchell

Mikena VanLiere2022-02-09T20:48:16-06:00

Staff Spotlight: Kayla Skufca, Lead Infant Teacher of Mitchell As EmBe parents, program participants, and staff, you already know that we do things differently at EmBe. Thanks to our nonprofit model, we serve the mission of empowerment in order to enrich lives, and that mission extends to each of the children we serve and their families. And thanks to hundreds of team members like Kayla, our Lead Infant Teacher in Mitchell, EmBe serves more than 800 children each day. This month, we get to know Kayla through her EmBe journey, and learn what has kept her here for nearly three [...]

Staff Spotlight: Kayla Skufca, Lead Infant Teacher – MitchellMikena VanLiere2022-02-09T20:48:16-06:00

Staff Spotlight: Michele Leiferman, Lead Teacher of Nursery One

Mikena VanLiere2022-01-03T14:49:58-06:00

Staff Spotlight: Michele Leiferman, Lead Teacher of Nursery One Michele Leiferman has been in the business of childcare for about 30 years. With more than five of those years spent caring for the kids of EmBe, she has worked closely with many kids and families, helping them transition in big and small ways. But whether a child is graduating from bottles to solid food or from her room to another, she knows all changes are big at this stage. And she knows the weight of her role. "When they grow out of my room and go to 2s, they still [...]

Staff Spotlight: Michele Leiferman, Lead Teacher of Nursery OneMikena VanLiere2022-01-03T14:49:58-06:00

Staff Highlight: Rebekah Warmbrand, Lead Teacher 5B

Mikena VanLiere2021-10-20T09:41:12-05:00

At EmBe, we are proud to serve the community by providing quality educational opportunities to inspire children to be confident, independent thinkers. Without our amazing team of teachers, this wouldn’t be possible. Our teachers help provide a safe and fun environment to facilitate the growth and development of children in our community. Teachers like Rebekah Warmbrand, 5B Lead Teacher at EmBe South, are the heart and soul of our organization. Rebekah’s responsibilities involve caring for a classroom of 4- and 5-year-olds. She also completes lesson plans and prep each week and works closely with her assistant teachers and other staff [...]

Staff Highlight: Rebekah Warmbrand, Lead Teacher 5BMikena VanLiere2021-10-20T09:41:12-05:00

Alex Helvin: South Childcare Site Manager

Mikena VanLiere2021-04-16T15:25:29-05:00

We are so excited to highlight and welcome Alex Helvin, our new South Childcare Site Manager, to the EmBe team. As the Childcare Site Manager, Alex provides daily management to the childcare site, leadership, supervision and development of childcare staff, along with parent communications and admissions. Alex is certainly not "new" in the sense of joining EmBe's team. Helvin started at EmBe when she was young and grew up within the company. "I have learned and developed both personally and professionally through my experiences with EmBe," Helvin started. "A lot of the foundational skills stem from what I built with [...]

Alex Helvin: South Childcare Site ManagerMikena VanLiere2021-04-16T15:25:29-05:00