Rodriguez Family

Wee Care: A Lasting Impact

Erick Rodriguez was first exposed to Wee Care as a high school student who dropped his little sister Mia off at the program bus stop before heading to his own school day at Enloe. Mia was part of the original Wee Care class and will graduate high school next year and head to the military. 

Erick says the confidence Mia gained through the program led her to start processing emotions at a young age that allowed her to make friends more easily and achieve academically – she was reading on a college level in middle school. So inspired by what he witnessed with his own sister, Erick was determined to get his own son into the program.

“My wife and I saw how my little sister developed into this amazing person, and none of us will ever forget her time at Wee Care,” said Rodriguez. “I literally showed up at the church and asked to apply and they helped me fill out the paperwork right there. The following day, Ares was put into the program.”

Erick says Laurie & Ellen’s approach to developing kids as both students and growing humans is what makes Wee Care so impactful – now for generations of his family. He credits the team with looking at a child as a whole person, on an emotional level, which means the teaching sinks in just how it needs to for each individual.

“After Ares first year, we would take him to Marbles and he would see another kid in need of making friends or playing with others and he would immediately go help the kid,” said Rodriguez. “He’d want to share and make friends. He’s open to talk with anybody. They helped him develop this awesome part of his personality.”

Rodriguez says that living in a city with inflation like Raleigh, the free nature of the program is a draw, but it doesn’t take long to realize that there are far more benefits than that.  “Within a month, your child becomes someone completely different from who they were when they started.  They get excited to go to school,” he said.

“From my sister’s experience to now, I knew this was where my child belonged,” said Rodriguez. “Their heart and soul is in this and I see it every time we talk.”