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Never underestimate the power of a mother’s love. We sit down with Jenny Dumont Radler, the founder of A Place for Grace, Michigan’s only fully inclusive childcare, preschool, afterschool program, and teen center for children with special needs. Jenny shares her deeply personal journey of raising her daughter, Emma, who was born with a bilateral cleft lip and palate. Through her struggles and triumphs, Jenny found her calling: creating a place where all children—regardless of ability—are welcomed, loved, and given the tools to thrive.
- How Jenny’s personal experience raising her daughter with special needs led to founding A Place for Grace.
- The challenges special needs children face in traditional daycare settings—and how inclusive childcare can make a difference.
- The incredible stories of resilience and transformation happening at A Place for Grace.
- The power of faith, forgiveness, and finding purpose through adversity.
- How you can support A Place for Grace and the children it serves.
Links:
🔗 Visit A Place for Grace: aplaceforgracechildcare.org
📍 Location: 4884 Gratiot Road, Suite 19, Saginaw, MI
📱 Follow A Place for Grace on Facebook
💖 Support the mission through the Saginaw Community Foundation
A Place for Grace: How One Mother Created a Safe Haven for Special Needs Children
Jenny Dumont Radler never set out to change the world. She only wanted a safe place for her daughter, Emma.
Emma was born with a bilateral cleft lip and palate. Her first year of life was filled with surgeries. Feeding was a challenge. Breathing was difficult. But through it all, Emma smiled. She was strong.
Jenny believed in her daughter’s future. But she didn’t expect the biggest challenge would come when Emma was ready for daycare.
The Struggles Begin
Like any parent, Jenny wanted Emma to have a space where she could learn, play, and grow. At 18 months old, Emma started daycare. At first, everything seemed fine. She attended St. Stephens, where she had a positive experience. But as she grew older and transitioned to a new daycare, problems began to emerge.
Jenny started receiving calls—over and over—telling her that Emma was having meltdowns. The staff didn’t know how to support her. Then came the moment that changed everything.
One afternoon, Jenny arrived to find a caregiver holding Emma in a bear hug, her legs wrapped around her, screaming and crying. The staff told Jenny they didn’t know what else to do. They didn’t have the resources or the training to help her daughter.
Jenny took Emma home, heartbroken. That night, she sat at her kitchen table and asked herself a difficult question: Where does a child like Emma belong?
She searched for an inclusive daycare—one that welcomed children with special needs and gave them the same opportunities as their peers.
She found nothing.
Fighting for Change Against All Odds
If no one else was doing it, Jenny would.
She gathered a small team of parents, educators, and professionals. They met in her living room, talking late into the night. The idea was simple: create a daycare where special needs children and their peers could learn together.
Jenny named it A Place for Grace, after her daughter, Emma Grace.
Starting was harder than she imagined.
- Funding was tight.
- State licensing was complicated.
- Many doubted it would work.
She secured space inside a local church. She followed every regulation. She built a curriculum that fostered inclusion, social-emotional growth, and academic success for all children.
Then came the biggest betrayal of all.
Jenny wasn’t planning to run the daycare herself. She had a board in place to manage operations. But one day, she got a call. The board had voted her out of her own organization. The vision she had created was slipping away.
For a moment, she felt crushed. Then, she did what she always did—she fought back.
She started over, from square one.
By 2014, A Place for Grace officially opened its doors.
A Place for Grace: Hope, Triumph & A Brighter Future
A Place for Grace became more than just a daycare. It became a community.
Special needs children were no longer pushed aside. Instead, they were welcomed, supported, and encouraged to thrive.
One foster child arrived completely nonverbal. He struggled with severe autism. Within months, he started communicating, making friends, and thriving. Today, he speaks in full sentences.
A young boy with Down syndrome found lifelong friendships. He attended homecoming and prom with Emma.
A 26-year-old woman with cognitive impairments, who had been rejected from countless programs, finally found a place where she belonged.
A Place for Grace quickly outgrew its original space. In 2022, Jenny purchased an 18,000-square-foot building, allowing the program to expand.
But keeping this mission alive requires community support.
Final Thoughts
Jenny never set out to be a pioneer. She was just a mother who refused to accept “no.”
Now, A Place for Grace is giving hundreds of children the future they deserve—a future where they are included, supported, and valued.
How You Can Help
Want to make a difference? Here’s how:
- Donate – Contributions help fund scholarships for families in need. Donate here.
- Volunteer – Assist with activities or special events.
- Spread the Word – Share Jenny’s story and help more families find this resource.
