A 4 Apple Learning Center Receives Grant from Hazel Danielle Clayton Foundation
Article and Photos by Juan Jocom
On Dec. 11, 2024, staff and community members gathered at A 4 Apple Learning Center to celebrate the school’s third anniversary on 23rd and Jackson and its receipt of a grant from the Hazel Danielle Clayton (HDC) Foundation.
Created by Ezell’s Famous Chicken for its 40th anniversary in honor of their late employee Hazel Danielle Clayton, who passed away suddenly in 2023, the HDC Foundation aims to provide grants to organizations focused on childhood education and development.
“One of the things that was important for us was picking organizations that already had a focus on the things that were important to Hazel Danielle Clayton and her foundation,” Lewis Rudd, the president and co-founder of Ezell’s Famous Chicken, said. “And its focus on education, opportunities to advance growth in youth, A 4 Apple, that’s what they’re doing.”
Rudd shared that A 4 Apple matched Clayton’s passion for community outreach and youth development, and that the impact the learning center was making in the Central District ultimately led to its selection as the grant recipient.
“Being right here in the heart of the Central District and being able to survive gentrification, redlining, systemic racism, and those socio-barriers, and to still be here today – being passionate about their purpose of providing education for youth and providing opportunities for growth for youth – we just thought that they were a prime candidate,” Rudd said.
A 4 Apple Learning Center, is currently rated Level 3 by Washington’s Early Achievers Quality Assurance System, is a full-time daycare center that provides child care for children 18 months to five years old.
Appollonia “Apple” Washington, co-owner and director of A 4 Apple Learning Center, was dressed for the occasion in a red suit paired with sparkly apple earrings and an apple pendant necklace.
During her speech upon receiving the award, she reflected on her journey of running the learning center with her mother, evolving from her role as a daughter to a co-business owner.
“I grew up in no bedroom. I didn’t complain until I got to the fifth grade, and I was growing up to be a young lady. My little brothers – we didn’t complain,” Washington said. “We didn’t understand what she was doing… As I became older, I wanted to go to school to further my education and my knowledge to be able to serve the kids in our community.”
Established in 1994 by co-owner and Executive Director Deborah Coleman, A 4 Apple Learning Center began as an in-home daycare with only six children.
“Even with the reputation that home daycares had, I changed the narrative because all my children who left my program were ready and equipped for kindergarten,” Coleman said.
Alongside raising her kids, Coleman also managed A 4 Apple. After moving to a bigger house in the Central District neighborhood, the center grew its enrollment to 12 students. Washington joined the team in 2008 as one of Coleman’s employees.
“I started bringing ideas to my mom where I knew we were outgrowing our space. I’ve always said, ‘God, Mom, we keep turning down children’… So, right here in 23rd in Jackson was ideal for us. It’s been a blessing to serve families out of greater capacity – 51 children, and we’re fully enrolled,” Washington said.
According to Washington and Coleman, this growth and success exemplify A 4 Apple’s commitment to meeting the needs of its community.
“Receiving this grant is such a blessing because our work in the community is not being unnoticed, and we align right along with, um, Miss Hazel’s mission for her grant, so it’s a blessing because we’re able to sew back into our program to support our children,” Washington said.
