Freddy Sapien, Director

Opened in September of 1999, the mission of Steady Steps is to provide a comprehensive, quality Christian program which fosters spiritual, cognitive, emotional and physical growth and is available and accessible to all children and their families in the community. Located at First United Methodist Church (FUMC), it is open to all children, regardless of church affiliation. It offers a sliding scale fee structure to enable children of any economic background to attend. Steady Steps is governed by a Council with members including Methodist church members, community members who are not affiliated with the First United Methodist Church and parents. Amanda McMillan is Council chair. Since its founding, Steady Steps has served nearly 1,000 children. 

Steady Steps Director, Freddy Sapien, a 2002 Mason High School graduate, returned to Mason after a career in business management and, in mid-2022, and stepped into the role of Director. When asked how his career had prepared him he was quick to answer, “When people ask me how I keep up with 36 children, I always say, ‘I don’t watch 36 children, I manage eight amazing ladies who do a fantastic job taking care of 36 children.’” 

Sapien observed, “The generosity of the people of the community of Mason has been and continues to be fantastic.” Student tuition only covers about 50% of the cost to educate a child. That percentage shrinks for babies and toddlers, who require more supervision. Sapien concluded, “If not for the First United Methodist Church, we would not be here. They cover the building expenses, utilities and insurance for Steady Steps.” 

Steady Steps is the only licensed facility in Mason County that operates on business hours. This means that parents who work a typical 8:00-5:00 day can drop off and pick up their children and work full time. Kingdom Kids, a mission of River of Life Church Gymnasium, is available two days a week and Headstart, which operates Monday-Friday, closes earlier in the day. There are home-based daycare settings, but they are limited as to how many children they can serve. 

On a typical day, a two-year-old Steady Steps student will be greeted by adults, have breakfast with classmates, have circle time and learning centers, play outside, have lunch, nap, go outside for more learning and a snack and then get ready to go home. All of this is supervised by a team of caring staff with anywhere from two-to-eleven years’ experience working at the facility.

This year Steady Steps added after-school care. 

Sapien stressed that he wants to offer a united front to the community in terms of options for care, “Once again this year we will partner with the River of Life in using their gymnasium for the fundraiser. We may operate from the First United Methodist Church, but the children we take care of are not only Methodist church members. Nikki Watson, Chair of the Steady Steps Council echoes the sentiment, “We are very excited about building a relationship with River of Life, as Steady Steps is a community resource. It is vital for parents, but also for our businesses so that employees can show up to work.”

If you have questions or want more information about Steady Steps or the fundraisers, Freddy Sapien can be found most days at the center on the north side of the First United Methodist Church or call 325-347-0043.