Carissa Gobbee operates Small Blessings Family Childcare from her North Shore home. She has gone above and beyond to stay open, especially early in the pandemic (Image Credit: CFJC Today)

By Chad Klassen

PANDEMIC HEROES

HEROES OF THE PANDEMIC: Daycare provider hero to parents who needed normalcy in early stages of COVID-19

Mar 18, 2021 | 3:41 PM

KAMLOOPS — In the fourth installment of our series “Heroes of the Pandemic,” we recognize the work of daycare providers in Kamloops during COVID-19 — many of whom have taken extra measure to keep their doors open. One in particular has made a difference for her families, who have been able to carry on with their lives without worrying about child care.

Carissa Gobbee likes to be hands-on with her kids, kicking the soccer ball around and playing on the ground in her North Shore backyard.

She runs Small Blessings Family Childcare from her home. Even at the beginning of the pandemic a year ago, she never shut down.

“I just tried to keep things as normal as I probably could for the children because most of them are younger and they didn’t fully understand what was happening. We didn’t discuss anything like [shutting down],” she said. “It was just, ‘Hey, we’re going to hand sanitize now’ rather than trying to scare them.”

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On the surface, nothing has changed for Gobbee. However, beyond the scenes, a lot more work has been put on her plate to keep running.

“Basically the cleaning is the hugest thing. It’s so much extra work. It’s got to be done twice a day. It’s laundry — washing all the blankets, the sheets and bedding and cloths and everything,” noted Gobbee. “The sanitizing. The hand sanitizing. Washing down all the toys.”

Gobbee represents the extra work all daycare providers have done during COVID-19. Parents at the daycare are extremely appreciative of her efforts to remain open.

“As someone who’s had to continue to work throughout this whole period, I don’t know what I would’ve done if we had lost our daycare,” said parent Kelly Fifield, who nominated Gobbee as a pandemic hero. “Knowing that our kids could keep up that routine when life was so unusual for everybody, keeping that constant routine just really helped with the kids’ mental health.”

Gobbee feels she’s doing what any other daycare provider is doing for their kids and families, but the appreciation shown by parents is heart-warming for her.

“It’s a nice feeling. It’s nice to be appreciated. Sometimes, being a daycare provider can be a thankless job that not a lot of people really recognize, so that’s really been wonderful,” she noted. “I’m very fortunate with the families I have that I sometimes feel I’m the lucky one that they’ve all been supportive of me as well.”

As the pandemic marches on, so will Gobbee and the kids.

“Just going to put one foot in front of the other and just keep going as well,” said Gobbee. “I love the kids and they keep me going, so I think that they’re probably just as important to me as I might be to them.”