Give the Gift of Comfort - HVAC System Urgent Need

Quality early learning experiences are the foundation for children’s school readiness and set the stage for later achievement in both school and in life. For 70 years, we have served approximately 100 young children per school year, ages 20 months to five years, and their families from northern Lake County, Illinois. These children come from racially, linguistically and socioeconomically diverse backgrounds, and our mission is to provide each of them with a comfortable yet stimulating learning environment that values them as individuals. At least 40% of enrolled families each year are from low income families and/or developmentally at-risk circumstances. We envision a world in which every child has daily opportunities to wonder, explore and discover.

The last few years have been hard on all of us, but it’s been especially hard for children. As a result of the pandemic, teachers are seeing delays in incoming students’ emotional regulation, communication skills, attention span and social skills. Children living in underserved communities, like ours, are more likely to have experienced multiple adverse childhood experiences (ACEs), such as the death of a loved one, significant family financial loss or the loss of reliable health care. AAUW Preschool strives to help heal those traumas and continue to provide the high-quality learning program it has for decades.

The costs of retaining great teachers, offering a quality curriculum with a high student to teacher ratio, keeping the existing building running—not to mention investing in innovations—cannot fall solely on families. A community investment is needed to supplement where tuition, donations, and other grant funding falls short.

Right now, the comfort of our learning environment is at risk due to the age of the HVAC system in our building. To ensure that these children can continue to learn in a safe, temperature regulated space, we are seeking $15,000 to replace the HVAC system. Your gift to the school will help us fulfill this critical need.

We hope you will be inspired to help the children in this community with a tax-deductible donation to AAUW Preschool.

Thank you for your consideration. Together, we will continue to build a safe and stable space to support Lake County families and their children’s development.