Carrying on the pioneering spirit behind one of Brampton’s oldest settlements, a PLASP centre director has been recognized for her role in shaping the future of Whaley’s Corners.

Upon winning the Kathleen M. Stroud Award earlier this year, centre director Jennifer Cawthorpe said one of her biggest professional challenges lay in opening PLASP’s Early Learning and Child Care Centre at Whaley’s Corners P.S. one year ago. The nearby community it serves gets its name from the Whaley family of early settlers who first arrived in the area in 1810.

Named after a provincial program advisor who helped PLASP become a licensed child care provider, the award is given to a staff member each year who demonstrates outstanding dedication to high-quality child care.

Described by her peers as a caring mentor, passionate PLASP ambassador, and a highly knowledgeable child care professional, Jennifer took great pride in meeting every challenge involved in setting up the new centre from scratch, starting with the furnishing of bare rooms with equipment, toys and appliances.

Once the centre was ready, she took a personal role in getting the centre populated – calling every interested family herself to let them know the centre was accepting children. The centre’s spaces were filled in less than a year.

With 18 years of experience as a PLASP employee, coworkers describe Jennifer as a positive role model whose enthusiasm and energy shines through the special events she holds for parents and families, and through the positive working relationships she has built with school staff.

The surrounding Whaley’s Corners community near Steeles Avenue West and Mississauga Road continues to grow. By 2021, the Region of Peel expects this area to experience some of the highest levels of demand for toddler and preschool child care.