MACON, Ga. — The Coliseum Child's Play Daycare near Piedmont’s Macon hospital is like a family.
“It's my child's safe place," Raven Lynch said.
Her two boys have been going there for two years.
“They walk through the doors, they love their teachers,” Samantha Webber said.
She’s a single mother of four and two of her kids are at daycare all day.
Now the Coliseum Child’s Play family is being ripped apart.
“We have made the choice to sell the building at 324 Coliseum Drive,” a letter given to families read.
Tina Kimsey – who has custody of her four grandchildren, two of whom go to the daycare – says she was handed a letter written by the owners saying the daycare would be shut down next Friday after 30 years.
She says the letter states that the owners tried to look for a childcare provider to take over operations, but were unsuccessful. Kimsey says the owners sold the property to Piedmont Healthcare instead.
“They knew they were selling for months. They should've told us months ago that they were thinking of selling; not the day of the sale, and you’ve got eight days to get out,” Kimsey said.
Kimsey says some daycares have months-long waiting lists, and with a full-time job, she doesn't have much free time to look.
“I haven’t had time to actually start calling. I don’t have any help, it’s just me. It's not fair to the workers, to the parents, to the kids,” Kimsey said. “Everybody is looking, scrambling, hunting.”
Webber said the daycare was perfect for what her family needs.
“Another facility who can provide the different needs that each of my children have – it's just impossible,” she explained.
Webber says her kids are all different ages, at different schools, and one has special needs. She says this daycare can take and pick up all of her children from school for her. She says the search for another place has been terrible.
“There’s no facility that has everything that has everything that my kids need. They don’t meet the needs that I need for transportation. It's one thing after the next, or they have room for my three-year-old but not my one-year-old,” she explained.
Webber says this closure will affect everyone– especially the kids. She says there are over 100 children enrolled here; some have been coming their whole lives.
“In every way – financially, with stability, with routine – everything is changing. You’re uprooting them from what they’ve known for years, and to just stick them somewhere else – where’s your heart,” Webber said.
Lynch says this place is like a second home for her children.
“They treat every child here like it's their own,” Lynch said.
She says she feels for the employees who also have just one week to find somewhere new to go.
“They have kids of their own that go here to this daycare center,” Lynch explained. “What's going to happen to them? Their bills, their livelihood, their kids' livelihood?"
We reached out to the owners of Coliseum Child’s Play and they declined to talk to us.
Parents say the building was sold to Piedmont Healthcare. We reached out to them and they said in a statement:
“We are aware of and sensitive to the situation regarding the use of the property. We have been in communication with the owner of the property for several months to request that the owner provide ample time to inform the parents of the children who attend the facility (as well as employees) to try and create as seamless of a transition as possible and to minimize disruption to all involved.”
The Georgia Department of Early Learning and Care said there is nothing in their rules and regulations prohibiting the daycare, as a private business, from closing or selling anytime.
They say parents and guardians impacted by the situation and need help looking for a new childcare provider can go to www.qualityrated.org or by calling the toll-free number 1-877-ALL GA KIDS. Parents will be assisted in locating childcare options. According to the website, DECAL provides this free service to parents.
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