Bronx Latina provides 1,500
essential workers with childcare
have a
Will my child getting
heart issue after a COVID-19 vaccine?
number of
been a small There have myocarditis and
reported heart issues (COVID-19
receiving a pericarditis) after effects are rare. The
side vaccine. These of COVID-19 vaccination
health benefits than the potential risks.
are greater CHILD VACCINATED.
COVID19.
YOUR SAVE LIVES. GET covidvaccine
or call 212-VACCINES vaccines, visit nyc.gov/
COVID-19 about COVID-19 To learn more Bill de Blasio
Mayor
Dave A. Chokshi, MD, MSc
Health Commissioner
Pediatricians recommend
the COVID-19 vaccine
for 5-17 year olds.
BTR BRONX TIMES REPORTER, DEC. 3-9, 2021 45
BY JASON COHEN
Former offi ce manager
Milagros “Millie” Carbajal
couldn’t fi nd child care when
she decided to go back to work
after having children. So, a decade
ago, she launched her own
24-hour day care service.
M&M 24HR Daycare,
named after her two kids Madison
and Mason, is in one of the
poorest neighborhoods in the
South Bronx. Since the onset of
the pandemic, Carbajal was adamant
that she would not close
her doors so she can continue
providing quality childcare for
the most vulnerable families.
Today, Carbajal is proud to
say she continues to help more
than 1,500 children whose
parents are essential workers
in the Bronx. From sanitation
workers to nurses and FedEx
employees, these valuable
workers seek to have the best
care for their children and Carbajal
is doing just that.
“We want to help our parents,”
Carbajal told the Bronx
Times. “I remember being so
overwhelmed and working and
coming home to my children
tired.”
Carbajal, 41, raised in Brooklyn,
has lived in the Bronx near
Yankee Stadium for the past
11 years. At age 18, she began
working in the hotel industry
and did that for a decade. However,
while pregnant with her
second child, she began looking
for child care. Carbajal worked
4 p.m.-midnight shifts, and as a
single mom it was tough to fi nd
someone to watch her kids. Not
being able to fi nd a sitter, she
was stuck between a rock and a
hard place.
“It looked like I couldn’t return
to work,” she said. “My
family was more than happy to
help, but I didn’t want to put all
that strain on them.”
After looking for child care
for two years, Carbajal decided
not to return to work. But
knowing she needed to provide
for her family, she instead began
doing research on starting
a day care. She realized that
many places only watched kids
until 7 or 8 p.m. However, this is
often an issue in particular for
moms and dads who work overnight
as essential workers.
“I knew the demand that
parents were looking for child
care in non-traditional hours,”
Carbajal said.
Carbajal found an apartment
on Craigslist big enough
to house a day care and spoke
with the NYC Department of
Health about the process. She
was nervous, but ready to take
a leap of faith. She educated herself
on branding and marketing
and did 120 hours of training
with Angela Salas, of the nonprofi
t Women’s Housing and
Economic Development Corporation,
who taught her how to
make lesson plans and interact
with families.
“It was very diffi cult,” she
said. “When I fi nally got approved,
I thought kids would be
swimming in.”
Not only were things challenging,
but she did not want
people to know she was running
a day care. In her mind,
she always envisioned being in
the hotel industry. She couldn’t
afford staff, so at fi rst Carbajal
had to do everything. The fi rst
couple years business was slow,
and her mom, Gladys Vilela,
would ask why she was doing
this. To stay afl oat, she sold
clothes and even dipped into
her 401 (k).
“I really didn’t want to close
my business down,” she said.
But eventually, M&M 24HR
Daycare slowly began to garner
a reputation, and by the fourth
year was at capacity with a
waitlist overfl owing. The business
receives funding from the
NYC Department of Education
and is licensed by the Health
Department.
Currently, she has two locations
at 1027 Walton Ave., one at
294 E. 162 St.,and a fourth day
care coming to 733 E. 236 St.
Children are there during the
day, after school and some even
stay overnight.
“I would rather do my own
long hours than work for someone
else,” she said. “It feels like
I was put on this earth to help
children.”
Millie Carbajal is proud to say she
continues to help more than 1,500
children whose parents are the essential
workers of the Bronx.
Photo courtesy Millie Carbajal
/nyc.gov