From Kerrytown Concert House Artistic & Executive Director, Monica Swartout-Bebow:

Every now and then, people come into your life who are truly angels on this earth! In my life, Laurie Atwood is one of them! From her work with children at her daycare, The Children's Creative Center (CCC), to her active involvement in the Arts, to the faithful, loving support that she extends without fail to her friends, Laurie truly makes this world a better place!

Laurie gives so much to KCH each year with her time and talents, and I am honored to have an opportunity to highlight her own good works with this volunteer spotlight. I hope you will read on and learn more about her wonderful work, and that you will tune-in to the CCC live streamed performance this Friday. You'll find the children delightful! I also encourage you to consider making a gift to the Friends of the Children's Creative Center Trust. After all, we're all in this together!

An interview with Laurie...

Tell us a little about yourself and your work!

I am the Owner and Director of Children’s Creative Center (CCC) in Ann Arbor (a play-based preschool with a focus on the arts), and the founder of the Friends of Children’s Creative Center Trust, which supports homeless and underprivileged children through child care scholarships, groceries, Christmas, and general family support. The school has been in operation for 27 years.

The primary yearly fundraiser for our trust is the production of a musical presented by our summer campers. The summer campers are children who have just finished kindergarten through fifth grade. It has become an “event not to miss” for our child care community and something that brings us all together every year. This year we are not able to produce the show as we usually do, so together we are creating a livestream that will be broadcast on social media on August 21st at 7:00pm.

When I opened my center I wanted to make sure that every child had an opportunity to attend, and that we would celebrate diversity. The values that we honor are that everyone and everything should be treated with respect, kindness, and dignity. I am fortunate that my school has allowed me to do what I love to do. I am working in a world that I created and I know as a community we are making a difference for so many children and families. I am proud of how committed our parents and friends are to our mission. It fuels my soul.