For decades, many families in the Douglas-Coffee County area have relied on the professionals at Precious Possessions Day Care and Learning Center (PPLC) to provide excellent care for their children. Recently, the facility celebrated its 30th anniversary. Precious Possessions has been operating since Jan. 2, 1986, and on opening day, only eight children were in its care. Owner Julie Mathews reminisced on that day, saying, “I think four of [the kids] were staff members’ kids. It was me, Cheryl Musgrove, Mama (Dale Tanner), my grandmother (Ruby Davis), and Rose Meeks. It was four of us.” What began with only four staff members and eight children has blossomed into a facility that is licensed to care for up to 200 children and employs 27 staff members. Between Julie Mathews, Cheryl Musgrove and Kathy Tucker, they have 90 years of experience handling and caring for children.
Precious Possessions is licensed through an agency called Bright from the Start, and they recently became a Quality Rated daycare in May 2015. This rating is achieved by going above and beyond the qualifications that Bright from the Start requires for licensing. Mathews explains, “For example, a difference in Quality Rated and Bright from the Start is BFTS requires 50 percent of your staff be CPR and First Aid certified, while if you’re a Quality Rated center 100 percent of your staff is CPR and First Aid certified.” The CPR and First Aid Certification criterion is just one of many criteria the daycare had to meet in a year-long process to achieve the Quality Rated title. This extra effort on behalf of the staff of Precious Possessions, along with the grading system that the facility is subject to through Bright from the Start, ensures that the daycare is providing optimal care to the many children they see.
Precious Possessions goes above and beyond its daily routine providing transportation to and from schools in the Douglas area. During the summer months their after-school program enjoys Camp Lollapalooza. Their summer camp began in the summer of 2012 when owner Julie Mathews own daughter, Annsley, was working with Precious Possession’s school kids. Annsley was in between college and PA school. She planned the camp and coordinated the field trips and activities. The kids travel to such destinations as Atlanta, Jacksonville, and Wild Adventures in Valdosta. Precious Possessions also utilizes the A Beka program in all of its departments. Precious Possessions cares for children ages six weeks to 12 years old, and parents interested in enrolling their children in the daycare can call for more information regarding the application process.
Julie Mathews and her staff are thankful for the support from the community throughout the years. “I know where my blessings are coming from,” Julie stated. “My daddy, Ralph Tanner, taught me many things. ‘Blessings and life are in the power of the tongue,’ he would say. He had Scriptures posted throughout his hog operation. This is one of them: ‘Blessed shall you be when you come in, and blessed shall you be when you go out (Deuteronomy 28:6).’”