$10,000 for 10 Years of Hillside
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$10,000 for 10 Years of Hillside
Ten years ago in 2010, Sarah Gerome bet against the odds and bought a little fixer upper in hopes of making a change; for her, for her daughters and little did she know, the community. Raising two teenage daughters alone required her to think outside the box, she decided to do what she does best: teach! Sarah did back flips trying to get her home licensed as a preschool, stumbling through state regulations and stretching herself thin to make it all happen. Ten years later and she has transformed the little house on the hill into a sanctuary where young minds can grow. Hillside School has flourished under her care, she now has waitlists for semesters in advance, other preschools in the area reaching out for her advice and parents rallying behind her.
Yet with growth comes growing pains. Sarah has been working seven days a week for a decade now to sustain the school. She does all the cleaning, the lesson planning, the maintenance for her yard and her house; she is principal, janitor, office administrator and so much more. But that isn’t all, Sarah has actively taken part in the community of Charlottesville, VA with monthly coffee and eggs for a local organization (The Haven) that serves the homeless, back to school drives for kids in need, and regularly attending meetings about race relations and new developments in early childhood learning. However at some point you can’t do it all alone, it’s time for the community to give back to the woman who has given this school, her community and her family her all. Just like Sarah every aspect of her home as been dedicated to the preschool in some way, and it desperately needs some love. Hillside School is currently serving 40 families and the foot traffic has left its mark. The repairs needed include:
— Renovating the bathroom for low flow toilets and child friendly sinks
— Energy efficient windows
— Making soffit repairs and painting exterior trim
— Repairing the crumbling cement front walk way
— Replacing rotting wood on the outside deck
Please, any amount you feel you can donate will go to the many repairs and care that Hillside needs if it is going to continue to serve the community!
Ten years ago in 2010, Sarah Gerome bet against the odds and bought a little fixer upper in hopes of making a change; for her, for her daughters and little did she know, the community. Raising two teenage daughters alone required her to think outside the box, she decided to do what she does best: teach! Sarah did back flips trying to get her home licensed as a preschool, stumbling through state regulations and stretching herself thin to make it all happen. Ten years later and she has transformed the little house on the hill into a sanctuary where young minds can grow. Hillside School has flourished under her care, she now has waitlists for semesters in advance, other preschools in the area reaching out for her advice and parents rallying behind her.
Yet with growth comes growing pains. Sarah has been working seven days a week for a decade now to sustain the school. She does all the cleaning, the lesson planning, the maintenance for her yard and her house; she is principal, janitor, office administrator and so much more. But that isn’t all, Sarah has actively taken part in the community of Charlottesville, VA with monthly coffee and eggs for a local organization (The Haven) that serves the homeless, back to school drives for kids in need, and regularly attending meetings about race relations and new developments in early childhood learning. However at some point you can’t do it all alone, it’s time for the community to give back to the woman who has given this school, her community and her family her all. Just like Sarah every aspect of her home as been dedicated to the preschool in some way, and it desperately needs some love. Hillside School is currently serving 40 families and the foot traffic has left its mark. The repairs needed include:
— Renovating the bathroom for low flow toilets and child friendly sinks
— Energy efficient windows
— Making soffit repairs and painting exterior trim
— Repairing the crumbling cement front walk way
— Replacing rotting wood on the outside deck
Please, any amount you feel you can donate will go to the many repairs and care that Hillside needs if it is going to continue to serve the community!
Co-organizers (4)
Romily and Katya Coles
Organizer
Charlottesville, VA
Natasha Sienitsky
Co-organizer
Guinevere Higgins
Co-organizer
Sophie Johnston
Co-organizer