Vantage Plastics: Championing Child Care and Community Sustainability Through MiTrishare

In Standish, Michigan, small employers face the challenge of balancing business needs with the realities their employees encounter every day. Vantage Plastics, a family-owned manufacturing company, has taken an intentional role in addressing one of the most pressing issues facing entry-level employees: affordable, quality child care.

The Challenge

For many families, the decision to pursue a long-term career is complicated by child care costs. Parents with small children often face a heartbreaking choice: strive to advance their careers and break the cycle of poverty, or stay home because child care expenses consume more than they can afford. Meanwhile, wages have not kept pace with the rising cost of living. Affording a car to get to work is more expensive than ever, healthy food is almost unattainable, and the availability of safe, affordable homes is critically limited. Social determinants of health, including child care, impact the well-being of the community and continue to build barriers to employment.

The truth is simple: an employee cannot be a great employee if they are worried about whether their child is in a safe, nurturing, and educational environment. Vantage Plastics understands this connection and is stepping up to be part of the solution.

To bridge from problem to solution, Vantage Plastics turned to MiTri-Share—an actionable way to lower child care costs and keep families working.

MiTri-Share: Our Approach

How It Works at Vantage Plastics

Vantage Plastics proudly participates in Michigan’s MiTrishare program, a public-private partnership that makes child care more accessible by sharing the cost between families, employers, and the state. By embracing MiTrishare, Vantage Plastics demonstrates its commitment not only to its employees but also to building a healthier and more sustainable community.

Community Partnerships

The WELL Outreach

Beyond MiTrishare, Vantage Plastics launched The WELL Outreach initiative to ensure the company remains deeply connected to the needs of the community. Through The WELL, Vantage Plastics actively collaborates with nonprofits, businesses, government agencies, and faith-based organizations. The philosophy is simple but powerful: all sectors are inextricably linked in creating a community where people can live, work, and play successfully.

The WELL functions as both a listening post and a call to action, keeping a pulse on the challenges families face while mobilizing resources and partnerships to address them.

Recognition

Child Care Champions

On September 17th in Lansing, Michigan, Vantage Plastics, along with company leaders Paul Aultman, Grantland Aultman and Heather Bauman, were recognized by the Early Childhood Investment Corporation (ECIC) as a Child Care Champion. This honor celebrates not only their participation in MiTrishare, but also their broader efforts to support the child care industry through The WELL Outreach. See the video.

What’s Next

The Road Ahead

For Vantage Plastics, the mission extends beyond business. By addressing the child care crisis and investing in community wellbeing, the company is helping employees move toward self-sustainability, reducing reliance on government programs, and strengthening the fabric of Arenac County.

Vantage Plastics is proof that even small employers in small towns can lead the way in creating opportunities for working families. Their message is clear: when businesses, nonprofits, government, and churches work together, communities thrive.

Take Action

Primary action: Learn how you can be part of the MiTri-Share initiative in Michigan → www.mitrishare.org

For employers: Take a quick survey to let community leaders know how you are addressing child care in your business → https://survey.zohopublic.com/zs/hV4Xy8