Centro Mater: a �culture of excellence� in child care

By Cristina Cabrera Jarro -

HIALEAH GARDENS | Miami-Dade County has over 1,000 childcare centers, but only 80 or so are nationally accredited. All five Centro Mater Child Care Centers are on that list. Under the former Early Learning Coalition five-star rating system, all five Centro Mater centers also earned a five-star rating.

It takes a special combination of quality and dedication to attain that “culture of excellence,” said Angel Alvarez, program director of Centro Mater West.

“Our most important resource is not the building or capital assets, it’s not the materials, it’s not the equipment. Our most important resource is our staff, our team members. And we’re able to do this, what we do, that culture of excellence, because of them. They make that possible.”

Alvarez was speaking Jan. 26 at the 20th anniversary celebration for Centro Mater West in Hialeah Gardens.

Currently, Centro Mater West has 204 children enrolled in its program, but over the last 20 years, 6,000 children between the ages of six weeks and five years old have walked through its doors, learned and benefitted from its many services, including a bilingual education and cultural awareness.

Mother Margarita Miranda Otero, a member of the Society of the Sacred Heart in Cuba, established Centro Mater Child Care Services in Little Havana in 1968 to serve the children of exiled Cubans who often worked two jobs to make ends meet. She also realized that South Florida’s immigrant children would need a place that would help them transition into life in the United States while holding fast to their roots.

But the family-like ambience of Centro Mater is what stands out for children and their families.

“When you get here, you don’t feel like you’re leaving your child at a daycare,” said Vilma Medio, marketing director at Palmetto General Hospital. “You feel like you’re leaving your child at grandma’s. That’s precious, that’s priceless. And it’s because of the team. It’s the heart.”

While Medio’s children are now in college, she said she appreciates how Centro Mater West shaped them and other children in the community, especially the underserved.

“As director of marketing (at Palmetto), I look for ways to help them during the year,” said Medio. “We have 1,600 employees that participate in the annual Thanksgiving drive. We give back to this center with Thanksgiving baskets that go beyond that, not only for Thanksgiving but for Christmas.”

Now operated under the auspices of Catholic Health Services, Centro Mater has expanded from its original location to centers in Hialeah Gardens and Hialeah. The centers now serve about 1,200 children a year, from 6 weeks to 12 years old, with day care, pre-school and after-school programs.

One of Centro Mater West’s most avid supporters was Jose “Pepe” Antonio Ortega, the Cuban-born entrepreneur who founded Sazon Goya Food Company. Ortega gave his time and money to many local institutions, including Mercy Hospital, the Jose Marti Scholarship program, and the Liga Contra el Cancer (League Against Cancer).

When he had the opportunity to help Centro Mater, he went above and beyond a monetary contribution: He bought the Centro Mater West property and its unfinished building and transformed it into a children’s safe haven.

“There was a lady that used to call him ‘el filántropo silencioso’ (the silent philanthropist) because he did things for the love of doing them and because he cared, not for any other reason,” said Maria Wollberg, Ortega’s daughter and a Centro Mater board member. “I remember when he bought this, he got in here and he started remodeling. It’s not only sometimes just giving, but becoming part of it and giving time and effort.”

Although Ortega died in 2009, the Ortega Foundation continues to support Centro Mater.

“This place has been so special because it’s run so well,” Wollberg said. “The people that work here are so dedicated. They do such a good job. It’s a pleasure. It’s easy for us.”

To learn more about Centro Mater and its services visit http://centromater.com.