Malika Demings
Malika is using art and fashion to inspire others.
Jonice is creating a community of service and home care providers.
Ily, Inc | Caregiving | New York, NY
Leaving for college at 17 opened up a new perspective for Jonice Ward, she took to heart the Boston College motto “Men and Women for others”. She has always been motivated by a desire to provide care for families and children, especially. Despite her funding for her Fulbright research project in Kenya getting denied because of terrorism related travel bans, she still found a way to go. Jonice could already feel a community through the words of one family in the area and through her travels across rural villages and urban cities in the, she soon felt a home-like community there.
After her year of travels and spurred by a need to help others, Jonice decided to pursue pre-med at New York University. Early in her post baccalaureate education while working as a senior childcare provider and becoming a doula, Jonice became inspired to connect members of her different communities in a new way.
That’s when Ily, Inc became a reality. Her experience in working with children, the elderly, and even pets motivated her to start a space for the best service providers to be matched with families, so that she can continue to form and grow a larger community rooted in love. Jonice slowly started to build Ily, Inc with the support of several Skysthelimit.org members and over time hired several care contractors. She realized the types of services New York city residents required were ever growing and expanded her service offerings to not only include childcare, but elder and pet care, property management, in-home chefs and more.
“I'm still not entirely sure why, but somehow each day as I work with different communities, families, daycare centers, and individual children and youth alike, my pathway home becomes a little bit clearer.”
When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, she was let go from her full-time nanny position. Also Ily, Inc had to pause all in person services, including home care, house cleaning, and pet care. Tasked with this unexpected turn of events, Jonice was able to transform her business with funding for Sky’s the Limit’s Rise and Thrive emergency relief funding to offer virtual services, while onboarding new providers to offer childcare services to frontline workers. Ily, Inc is now placing childcare providers in homes of essential and frontline workers in addition to providing them with birthing and elder care services at no cost to them.