Hughes & Coleman Hometown Hero: Madeline Carter

BOWLING GREEN, Ky. (WBKO) - Creative Learning Inc., is a local childcare service that believes in taking care of the community by helping families in need.

Owner, Madeline Carter, is always there to lend a helping hand to anyone in need.

Some of the parents that use the service describe the facility as a “home away from home” and say that the staff is like a second family to them.

Melissa Downey, the Kitchen Manager at Creative Learning, nominated Madeline for her compassion and eagerness to help people in need.

“Madeline is such an inspiration to me, my coworkers, to everyone that knows her,” she said. “There’s no words to express how wonderful a person she is,” she said.

“When you spend all day every day with these kids and you see their parents every day, you really get to know who these people are outside of work and school, and you become one huge family,” Carter said. “It’s really easy to get involved and care about everybody else involved outside of just our staff.”

Getting to know the families helps her determine the needs of the community and she credits her parents for giving her the drive to help others that may be having a difficult time. Her husband, who does maintenance on the facility, is another one of her inspirations; giving her support and advice when needed.

The community shows appreciation for Creative Learning Inc, by donating items for the children.

In return, the facility also gives back to those that need help.

During the December tornado, a family serviced by Creative Learning lost almost everything to the storm.

The facility helped that family get whatever they needed.

Madeline doesn’t take all the credit for the good things the facility does for the community. She commends her staff for their hard work and relationships with the children and families of the area. The facility’s Director, Chastity Hammer, helps bring events and ideas for community service to her.

“I couldn’t do this without them. They are the heart of this facility. They’re here all day every day,” Carter said. “They have personal relationships with these families outside of their work so really, I couldn’t do this without them.”