Meet Amy Corrigan | Founder, CEO, and Director at Emmy’s Academy a 501c3 not-for-profit organization

We had the good fortune of connecting with Amy Corrigan and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Amy, we’d love to hear more about how you thought about starting your own business?
I felt moved to fill a need in the community. My daughter, Emmy, passed away and she had special needs. I looked into how to start a day care center. We started small, in a room at our church. We progressed to a building in Roswell where we eventually got licensed by the state of Georgia as a Child Care Learning Center. A couple of years ago we had to move locations and are now in Marietta and are also licensed as a Child Care Learning Center. We primarily care for children under five years old that have special needs.

Alright, so for those in our community who might not be familiar with your business, can you tell us more?
Emmy’s Academy is a small business… we have to think outside the box to make our donations and tuition meet the needs of our center. We are a grass-roots effort and may always stay that way. We are very personal with our students and families that we serve as well as our staff.

Networking with other small business owners, daycare operators, etc have helped us learn and grow to where we are today. I visited Space Coast Early Intervention Center in FL, SISU (formerly Challenged Child and Friends) in Gainesville, GA, and welcomed The Rise Center (from University of Alabama) to our Roswell location to learn more about their center and possible collaboration opportunities.

I’ve learned to keep it simple, don’t sweat the small stuff, do good, and trust in God with all you do.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
I would take them to the Battery. Braves game, ride the PBR Bull, and enjoy a concert at the Roxy!

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
The organization that I want to dedicate this shout out to is Emmy’s Academy! Emmy’s Academy provides affordable developmentally appropriate care for children with special needs and support for their families. We are a small, local non-profit in Marietta and our students and their families have a strong bond with our staff. We are like a big family. We still keep in touch with students that have aged out of our program, even from the little room at Mt Bethel Church back in 2011. I want to thank and shout out to my Assistant Director, Bianca Macias! Bianca started as a volunteer with us while she was in her undergrad at Kennesaw State University and worked her way up to be my Assistant Director. She has helped me in so many ways from fundraising events, volunteer fairs, setting up classrooms, writing grants, getting licensed… TWICE, and keeping our staff motivated and educated. Live long, my sweet daughter, Emmy!

Website: www.emmysacademy.com

Image Credits
JCPenney, LifeTouch, Cobb Collaborative, and my friends