Rebecca Howerton interviewed Donna on what it was like to raise two young children while her husband was deployed. Below is the full article that ran in the November issue of Upstate Parent.

Donna and Brock Quinn are husband and wife, married for 14 years, with two children. A son who is 8 years old and a 5 year old daughter. Donna has worked in childcare for 13 years and Brock has been in the Air Force Reserves for 12 years.

Like many military couples, Brock and Donna Quinn will reflect on their experiences serving their country this Veterans Day. But in the days before and after, Donna Quinn will be working hard as she prepares to launch a new venture that will provide a service for all parents that she wishes she’d had while her husband was overseas—flexible, high-quality child care.

Brock, who serves in the Air Force Reserve, was first deployed for four months when Donna was pregnant with their first child, Aidan, now 8. His second deployment, to Kandahar, Afghanistan, was for six months in 2013, when Aidan was 3 and their daughter, Anna, now 5, was an infant.

“It was very difficult. Aidan was too young to really understand. My family was in Canada, too far away to help. My husband’s family was here, but they had busy lives and couldn’t always be available to watch the children,” Donna Quinn said. “Like any parent, I had times when I needed a few hours without children. It would have been wonderful to have a place to take them where I knew they would be happy and safe.”

Now she’s working to create just such a place, renovating Suite 10 at 21 Orchard Park Drive, (near Outback Steakhouse) to provide hourly, drop-in care for children from 12 weeks to 12 years old. With an associate’s degree in Early Childhood Education from Greenville Tech and 13 years’ experience as a child-care professional, Quinn is enjoying making plans to keep children engaged at KidsZone.

“KidsZone will be a place for children to have fun, explore, and socialize while parents work, run errands or take time to refresh themselves,” she said. “We’ll have early morning, afternoon, and evening hours, so it will be convenient for appointments, date nights or spending time with friends.”

Infants and toddlers will have a wing separate from older children, and along with free play, there will be structured time with crafts, stories, and other activities. Children can come for a few hours or a few days a week, and parents only pay for the time they use.

As owner and director of KidsZone, Quinn looks forward to providing for other parents the kind of flexible child care she wanted—and still wants—for her own children.

“We’re excited about this opportunity to offer a new type of child care for busy families,” she said.

KidsZone will open in early 2018 and is accepting applications for staff positions. For more information, visit KidsZoneUpstate.com, or email info@KidsZoneUpstate.com.

Upstate Parent: Military couple’s new venture

Rebecca Howerton

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