Habitat Power at Little Willows

One has been working there for 18 years. Another just started this September. None of them really knew about one another, but five of our partner families are now working for Little Willows Preschool at three different locations.  

Tabitha had been a stay-at-home mom when her relationship ended in 2019. She looked into Habitat for Humanity at the time, but realized she didn’t qualify for a home, as she wasn’t working. Her sons were attending Little Willows Preschool at Stave Falls Elementary, and she knew that’s where she wanted to work.  

She put herself through college to become an Early Childhood Educator. During her second practicum at Little Willows, an existing partner family, Tabatha S reignited Tabitha’s interest in applying for housing with Habitat. Ironically, on her graduation day, Tabitha had to be out of her rental property.  

It was a very stressful time, she recalled. She had to move but found that “No one wants someone with three boys,” she said. She found temporary housing, but knew she needed a more stable solution.  

Being hired at Little Willows straight from her practicum gave Tabitha the push she needed to reach out to Habitat Greater Vancouver. She knew they were accepting applications to fill the remaining 12 units at Cedar Valley Connector, and she very much wanted to be one of those families.  

Shelley was also a stay-at-home mom who suddenly found herself a single parent and in need of employment. One of the Little Willows directors is a family friend and gave Shelley a job as an RA (Responsible Adult). She worked hard to get her ECA and is now doing online schooling at night while working full time, to attain her full ECE designation. She has been with Little Willows for three years and her children are in their after-school care program. 

“It’s a wonderful job,” said Shelley.  “It’s creative too. I like being creative; thinking outside the box and teaching young kids important skills for life.” 

While Shelley and Tabitha knew one another in their work life, neither of them realized they were both in the Habitat family until they met at the Abbotsford ReStore for their service hours orientation in the spring of 2021.   

 Jaclyn is an ECE teacher at the Stave Falls location and worked with Tabitha’s boys. Neither one was aware they had applied to Habitat. Little did they know that one day they would be neighbours and their children would become best friends. 

At Habitat, there is a spin the wheel process for deciding who goes into what home, to make it fair for everyone. Lo and behold, the wheel was spun and resulted in Jaclyn and Tabitha being neighbours – not just in the sense that they were in the same community of homes, but the fact they were in townhouses right beside one another! 

Jaclyn has two boys of her own. She has worked for the Little Willows founder, Reaghan Gasparre, for 18 years and loves it. Jaclyn and Tabitha have since been working together in the toddler room with the 2-year-olds, and Tabitha was recently promoted to Supervisor of the Infant Program.   

Tabatha S, who encouraged Tabitha to apply, has been in her Habitat home since July 2021. Prior to moving, Tabatha was doing service hours at the Mission build site and noticed the Little Willows Preschool on the street corner next to the site. She was already working with a daycare in Surrey but was concerned the commute from Mission would be too long. She called Little Willows and secured a position at the Lougheed location, starting four days after she moved into her Mission home.  

A year and a half later, and Tabatha, a mother of three daughters, still loves everything about Little Willows. “I love the babies, I love the people I work with, and I love the Reggio Emilia philosophy they follow,” she said. “The program is play-based, children-led, and uses more natural materials and loose parts.”  

After moving with her husband and three children to their Habitat home in July 2022, Zuhal wanted to first get settled, and then look for a daycare to work at. While exploring their new neighbourhood, Zuhal also noticed the Little Willows Preschool just steps from her home. With her youngest daughter not yet school age, she wanted something that offered flexibility and an opportunity to be with her daughter.  

As an Early Childhood Assistant, Zuhal said to herself, “I wish I could work here. It’s so close to my home.” Following her successful application, she said her dream came true. She started September 2nd.  

At the time she applied, she said she was unaware that other partner families were working for Little Willows. “It was so surprising for me,” she said. 

It wasn’t until the small community of 19 families came together for a neighbourhood BBQ in September that all of the women realized that five of them were working for the same company.  

They know their situation is pretty unique.  

“We all have this connection because we work together doing the same thing, have had struggles and each story intertwines in different ways,” remarked Tabitha. “It’s a bond that I’m so thankful I can share with my neighbours.”