Detroit child care owner profiled in Free Press receives $20K on 'Kelly Clarkson Show'

Jennifer Brookland, Detroit Free Press
·4 min read
  • Oops!
    Something went wrong.
    Please try again later.

When Betty Henderson, who owns a 24-hour child care center in Detroit, was profiled in the Free Press several months ago, she wasn’t sure how much longer she could endure the struggle of keeping her center open. Besides the razor-thin margins — or even losses — inherent in operating a child care center and the exceedingly long hours required to run one around the clock, Henderson felt unsupported and uncertain about the future.

“You don’t know how many times we providers call each other crying,” Henderson had said.

Many times since the article was published, Henderson has instead found herself crying tears of joy. The biggest splash came when she was gifted $20,000 by an emotional Kelly Clarkson on the set of Clarkson's daytime NBC talk show.

This photo provided by "The Kelly Clarkson Show," features (left to right) Folake Olowofoyeku, Allison Williams and Betty Henderson. Henderson, a child care operator from Detroit, reacts as she finds out she received a $20,000 gift from Clarkson. She would also get thousands more from Detroit readers following a Detroit Free Press article.
This photo provided by "The Kelly Clarkson Show," features (left to right) Folake Olowofoyeku, Allison Williams and Betty Henderson. Henderson, a child care operator from Detroit, reacts as she finds out she received a $20,000 gift from Clarkson. She would also get thousands more from Detroit readers following a Detroit Free Press article.

'We need more people like her in this world'

“It’s really such a beautiful thing you’re doing. It’s remarkably helpful,” Clarkson said on the show. “We don’t think about these people in our community that really hold it all together, and you’re one of those people.”

Longtime friend and colleague Kitty Nixon also got a chance to speak up on the show, telling the live audience how Henderson had allowed her to work in the preschool classroom in exchange for tuition for her young son, enabling her own dreams of returning to school.

“I don’t think that she realizes the impact that she has on so many people,” Nixon told Clarkson. “I’ve watched her struggle. I’ve watched her sacrifices. … It should be her time to shine and she’s still doing for so many people, accommodating them as often as she can. Ms. Betty is absolutely amazing, and we need more people like her in this world.”

More:Inside Detroit's 24-hour child care: A fragile lifeline for working parents

More:Growing number of grandparents face crushing costs as they raise kids

Owner and director Betty Henderson, 51, looks through letters and checks that were donated by strangers inside her office at Angels of Essence Day Care in Detroit on Jan. 19, 2023. 'I write a thank you letter to everyone,' said Henderson. 'They don't even know me. I ask myself, how can I ever repay them?'
Owner and director Betty Henderson, 51, looks through letters and checks that were donated by strangers inside her office at Angels of Essence Day Care in Detroit on Jan. 19, 2023. 'I write a thank you letter to everyone,' said Henderson. 'They don't even know me. I ask myself, how can I ever repay them?'

Readers respond with toys, diapers, thousands of dollars

The outpouring of support from the community, not to mention local and national media attention, has renewed Henderson’s faith that people recognize the essential work she’s doing and are rooting for her to succeed.

“It’s just been a blessing all the way around, and I’m floored,” Henderson said this week.

Checks and donations began to trickle into Angels of Essence Daycare soon after the article first published online in October. Henderson said that, beyond the Clarkson gift, she’s received $5,747 to date, in addition to toys, books and puzzles for the kids.

Readers dropped off so many boxes of diapers and pull-ups that parents haven’t had to bring any in for their children since the article published. Previously, if a child ran out of diapers, they would be sent home, and their parents would have to miss work until they could buy more. For many of the families served by Angels of Essence, that’s an expense they must balance with gas money, food and other necessities.

Stacks of diapers that have been donated by strangers sit inside a classroom at Angels of Essence Day Care in Detroit on Jan. 19, 2023.
Stacks of diapers that have been donated by strangers sit inside a classroom at Angels of Essence Day Care in Detroit on Jan. 19, 2023.

One reader delivered a bagel breakfast for the staff, then astonished them by offering to bring Christmas presents in for all the kids who attended Angels of Essence. Henderson collected wish lists of three gifts per child, expecting the donor to choose one for each kid. Instead, the reader and his family dropped off a mountain of wrapped toys and gifts: everything that each of the 31 children enrolled had dreamed of.

More:At home for abused, neglected boys in Detroit, Christmas wish lists are fulfilled

More:Whitmer announces $23 million in startup funding for child care entrepreneurs

'I must have cried for three hours straight'

Henderson says the intangible support has been just as appreciated. One reader called to see how she could help and ended up supporting Henderson with payroll and accounting services — a huge help to her bottom line. Now, for the first time in her career, Henderson is able to offer health care coverage to her employees.

One of Henderson’s biggest stressors remains the expansion of Angels of Essence, which was well underway when an arsonist destroyed the building she had purchased. Despite having invested hundreds of thousands of dollars in the project, Henderson found herself unable to buy insurance for the building, a prerequisite for running a licensed child care center. But she was overjoyed when a reader learned of her struggle and spent days making phone calls to underwriters on her behalf until he could finally offer her a policy.

Betty Henderson, 51, reacts with joy after seeing that toilets have been installed inside the bathrooms at her new building undergoing construction in Detroit on Jan. 19, 2023. During the summer, the building that Henderson was hoping to renovate in order to expand her current child care facility, caught on fire and was destroyed. Now, Henderson restarts the renovation process.

“I must have cried for three hours straight,” Henderson said.

It’s hugely expensive, and Henderson is currently interviewing for weekend jobs so she can afford to keep her dream alive. For now, with the support she continues to receive, she’s still committed to making child care accessible for her community.

“The best part is knowing that I’m making a difference,” said Henderson, who continues to fundraise in the hopes of a grand opening in June.

A handwritten letter sits on Betty Henderson's desk at Angels of Essence Day Care in Detroit on Jan. 19, 2023. Letters of support and encouragement have been sent to Henderson by strangers in Michigan, New York, California and throughout other parts of the country.
A handwritten letter sits on Betty Henderson's desk at Angels of Essence Day Care in Detroit on Jan. 19, 2023. Letters of support and encouragement have been sent to Henderson by strangers in Michigan, New York, California and throughout other parts of the country.

She has a stack of envelopes from readers who’ve contributed. She’s making sure to save everyone’s return address, so she knows where to send an invitation.

Jennifer Brookland covers child welfare for the Detroit Free Press in partnership with Report for America. Make a tax-deductible contribution to support her work at bit.ly/freepRFA. Reach her at jbrookland@freepress.com.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: 24-hour Detroit child care receives $20K gift on 'Kelly Clarkson Show'