Meet Terry Whitworth

 

We were lucky to catch up with Terry Whitworth recently and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Terry, appreciate you sitting with us today to share your wisdom with our readers. So, let’s start with resilience – where do you get your resilience from?

My Sister passed away with cancer in 2019. This was definitely the hardest thing I have ever had to deal with. We were so close. She was so awesome! We both worked in childcare. She along with her husband owned a Childcare Center, and I own a Family Childcare Home. She not only owned her center, but she was also the Director. When she became ill, she asked me to take over as Director. I did not hesitate and said yes. I was operating different shifts at my childcare home and attending college for my bachelor’s degree. I immediately downsized very part time at home and put college on hold. I became Director at her center in 2018. I would work there all day and then would go to see my sister to help take care of her. I am glad I could be there for her. I loved being able to help take care of her. Some people never get the chance to tell their loved ones how much they love them, but I was able to tell her each day. When God called her home, my heart dropped but I know God does not make mistakes. I overheard her telling our dad that she was tired and that she had lived a good life. I’ve always tried to be the strong one in our family. Even though we were going through this, I was still the Director at the childcare center. I opened up every morning, put a smile on my face and told each child that came through the door hello, and it is going to be a great day! I could not have done any of this without God in my life. I just left the childcare center in May 2023 to come back to my family childcare home full time. I also went back to college while I was working as director and received my Bachelor of Science Degree in Birth-Kindergarten Education in 2022. Yes, it was very hard, but I pushed through. So, my resilience developed through the process of grief. I am able to keep my sister’s memory alive by helping others. I started adopting cancer patients for Christmas about 4 years ago through Hospice and now this is something that we do every year as a family childcare home. It’s getting bigger and bigger each year! Kids Cabin Family Child Care Home is known to give back and work in our community.

Let’s take a small detour – maybe you can share a bit about yourself before we dive back into some of the other questions we had for you?

My Husband and I own Kids Cabin Family Child Care Home. We are celebrating 20 years. We are your nontraditional childcare home. We work in our community to help those in need. The childcare needs of all economic levels are served to help families obtain employment or to further their education. I have an associate’s degree in early childhood education from Cleveland Community College and a bachelor’s degree in birth-kindergarten education from Gardner Webb University. We give out self-care gifts to our mothers of our students each month. Some are college students, some are working a lot of hours, some are grandmothers taking care of their grandchildren here and we even have a great grandmother taking care of her great grands. We want to make sure they feel appreciated. We also send extra snacks home with our students. We work in our community a lot. We have participated in events to help feed our community, help veterans, trunk or treat, book bag giveaways, grandparent’s day gifts and our biggest is adopting cancer patients for Christmas. We were Family Child Care Home of the year in 2019, Community Choice Award Finalist in 2023 and we are in the top 3 for Community Choice Award again now for 2024 in Cleveland County. The winners will be announced in October. Our story was told by me on the big screen in St. Louis Missouri at the National Association for Family Child Care Conference in July 2024. I am a member of National Association for Family Child Care, Black Child Development Institute, North Carolina Early Education Coalition and National Association for the Education of Young Children. I serve as treasure on the Board of Directors for Child Care Connections of Cleveland County. I love being an entrepreneur! I sell planners and journals on amazon and currently getting a website together so customers can order from me. My vision to do this came from my business, health and spirituality. The titles are Minding my Business (Ultimate Productivity Journal), My Childcare Business (Daily Journal), Just a Girl & Her Bible (90-day Bible Study Journal), Self- Care Journals, Children’s Journals and more. My journals and planners are great for women entrepreneurs and women in general. I am married to Larry Whitworth Sr, and we have 3 children together and 3 grandchildren. When Larry and I are not working in our childcare home, My favorite thing to do is grill with my family, watch movies and just enjoy one another. I would love to collaborate with other childcare professionals to coordinate retreats, conferences or just to start a childcare or women business group to encourage each other. We are always accepting donations for our Adopt a Cancer Patient fund.

There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?

1.Communication. I make sure to say exactly what I mean and mean what I say. This helps people to understand you better and what your or your brand stands for. Communication is important to help build relationships. You never know who you may meet that may help you along the way.

2. Resilience. There will be challenges and setbacks but keep pushing forward to your goals to get things done. Give yourself grace. Tomorrow is new day!

3. Perseverance. This has helped me overcome obstacles in my life. This skill can keep you motivated. When things get tough, I redo some things and work harder. Giving up is not an option.

Before we go, maybe you can tell us a bit about your parents and what you feel was the most impactful thing they did for you?

My parents, Forest and Rebecca Vinson taught us the value of love and support. They raised us to always take care of family. They showed us the meaning of hard work and dedication. We had a wonderful foundation growing up. They introduced us to God and made sure we attended church. This has helped more than anything else.

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