Happy Elephant Child Care of Waverly

Happy Elephant Child Care of Waverly is a daycare in Waverly, Michigan, located at 4010 W Michigan Ave. It holds a rating of 3.60. The center is a family-run, nonprofit child care organization that has been serving families for three generations, and it welcomes infants from one month old through school-age children. Care is billed by the hour, so families pay only for the care they use rather than flat weekly rates, and the center opens at 5:30am Monday through Friday for working families. Nutritious meals and snacks are provided daily, and the center accepts state-funded child care subsidies for families who qualify.

The organization was founded in 1972 by Tom and Berta Case in a church in Flint, Michigan. The name Happy Elephant was suggested by Tom's mother Marian, and it symbolizes the value of growing and learning through the joy of play. The center considers it a privilege to have provided care for three generations of people in the community, including former students who are now caregivers in its centers across the state of Michigan.

Program directors hold credentials including a Bachelor of Science in Family Studies from Western Michigan University, an Associate Degree in Early Childhood Education from Lake Michigan College, a Bachelor of Science in Early Childhood Studies from Rochester University, a Bachelor of Science in Early Childhood Education from Arizona State University, and Child Development Associate credentials through the CDA National Credentialing Program. The corporate manager holds an Early Childhood Associate from CMU and U of M, Flint, began as a director at one of the organization's first centers in 1980, and became company manager in 1990. The program coordinator holds a Bachelor of Science with Early Childhood Endorsement from EMU and joined in 2015, and the food program and CDC handler holds a Bachelor of Arts in Business Administration and joined in 1989.

Happy Elephant Child Care of Waverly brings more than five decades of family-run, nonprofit early childhood care to Waverly, with hourly billing, early opening hours, and daily meals that fit the schedules of working families.