Tammy Rawls is moving quickly this morning as she greets children at the Allemas Childcare & Enrichment Center in Cleveland. She shows one child how to tie her shoes and helps another take off his winter jacket, all the while listening to competing claims for her attention. However, Tammy wouldn't have it any other way.

Just two years ago, Tammy's dream of opening a multicultural childcare center on the east side of Cleveland was in limbo. She couldn't get financing because she lacked startup capital. Then a friend suggested ShoreBank, which saw the potential in her idea and financed Tammy's dream.

Today, there are 75 students enrolled in Allemas Childcare & Enrichment Center, which is recognized for the diversity of its students, its high-quality curriculum, and cultural enrichment activities that include ballet, computer classes, foreign languages, and art lessons.

Tammy is proud that her students are unusually advanced for their age and that they are gaining learning experiences with people from many different cultures. "We challenge, offer educational tools and enrich our children in ways that most childcare facilities don't," she says. "And we offer individualized educational curriculum and activities, so that their daily routine is anything but routine."

ShoreBank is committed to helping customers build their own wealth and revitalize communities by creating successful small businesses like Allemas, which strengthens Cleveland by nourishing the young minds that are the city's future.