About Us

Our History

Opening Doors to opportunities since 1965

Florida is one of the premier agriculture states in the country. Many varieties of crops are grown throughout the state, and farm workers come to Florida for the many jobs that the agriculture industry provides. From sun up to sundown, workers toil in the hot sun picking the vegetables and fruits that are on practically every table in America. But for these workers, the challenge of what to do with their children during the work day.

Impoverished farmworkers in South Florida had no alternative but to bring their young children into the fields with them. In one incident, a toddler drowned in an irrigation pit. Many others died getting caught under farm machinery. Most spent long days exposed to broiling sun, pesticides, insects and snakes. Something had to change. That is when RCMA was born.

Founded in 1965 as the Redlands Christian Migrant Association, RCMA was established by a village of Mennonites near Homestead, concerned about the children spending all day in South Florida’s vegetable fields with their migrant-working parents. They saw the harsh, sometimes deadly, environments the children had to endure and knew they couldn’t sit idly by. These brave and selfless early members of RCMA took action and created a safe haven by opening two childcare centers located at Homestead’s Redlands labor camp.

At first, and quite surprisingly, most of the farmworkers stayed away. The Mennonites were mystified and enlisted the help of Wendell Rollason, an outspoken crusader for immigrant rights in the Miami area. Rollason rolled up his sleeves and got to work. He noticed two interesting things: an unusually large number of immigrant mothers had signed up to volunteer, and an unusually large number of other immigrant mothers had left their children in the center. Rollason made the connection: the immigrants would entrust their babies only to caregivers from their own culture. He decided to hire childcare workers from among the immigrants from the fields.

This illuminating moment reshaped the futures of countless babies, a thousand or so mothers, and RCMA itself. Soon, the little ones began filling RCMA childcare centers to capacity. The mothers found themselves no longer isolated in the fields but launching new childcare careers in mainstream society, with lifelong educational opportunities. New immigrants’ first point of contact with RCMA was someone who had walked in their shoes, a fact that still holds true today.

For RCMA, Rollason’s realization was the wellspring of a new business model for straddling multiple cultures. From that point on, RCMA’s childcare centers and regional offices would be led by a coordinator from the culture of the community it served, backed up by a childcare expert hired for her professional background, regardless of culture. RCMA’s initial concern – the health and safety of young children – was quickly allayed through good nutrition and health screenings. A new priority emerged: early childhood education. It has remained at the top of RCMA’s job description ever since.

From the two childcare centers in Homestead, RCMA has grown today to nearly 60 child care centers, 19 partner family child care homes, three charter schools, and several afterschool programs, in 21 Florida counties, serving nearly 5,000 children every year. All of the centers serve the rural poor, and most serve the children of Hispanic immigrants. Many centers accept infants as young as six weeks, and after-school programs serve children ages 5 to 11. In 2000, K-8 charter schools in Immokalee (southeast of Fort Myers)., and Wimauma (south of Tampa) were opened to provide additional educational opportunities. In 2023, a third charter school was opened to K-1 students in Mulberry, just south of Lakeland.

Despite all the changes made over the past six decades, Wendell Rollason’s inspired personnel policy still affects RCMA, and the people it serves, profoundly. An early beneficiary of RCMA’s mission was the late Maria Coronado, a Mexican immigrant. Coronado quit picking oranges and tomatoes in 1974 to join RCMA as a cook. Supervisors quickly noticed her leadership skills, and a 30-year career began to unfold. She eventually acquired responsibility for six childcare centers and 300 children in Homestead. Today, the Coronado family is thoroughly integrated into American society. Maria Coronado’s children include a school principal, a retired Army captain, a business executive, and an international entrepreneur in the orchid industry.

A more recent example is Lourdes Villanueva, who migrated with her parents as a teenager. She learned to pick all kinds of fruits and vegetables, but her favorite was oranges. She loved peering into the distance from the top of the ladder she used, dreaming about her future. When Villanueva had children, she discovered RCMA and a new life. She joined RCMA as a family support worker, earned her GED, and eventually earned a bachelor’s degree in social work. Today, Villanueva lives east of Tampa, and is RCMA’s Director of Farmworker Advocacy. Her two sons have earned bachelor’s degrees and are partners in a landscape pesticide company. Her daughter, with an associate’s degree, is the sole bilingual staff member in a local bank.

As we celebrate 60 years of service to the community, RCMA continues to embody the values of honesty, respect, love of self, and caring for our neighbors and the communities we serve.