Please Help Save Our Preschool
Donation protected
Due to licensing changes, Anchorage Cooperative Preschool needs to make major renovations or we will be forced to close our doors after 47 years. Please help save our school. We are doing all we can to make every dollar stretch as far as possible, but we need to knock down walls, drill into concrete, and add new plumbing facilities into our classroom, and this requires some special skills and equipment. We’ve begun construction, but to fund it we have had to take out a loan through First Christian Church from whom we rent our space, and we need to pay it back as soon as possible. Our budget is tight, and paying back the loan will be difficult for us. ACP is a place that has meant so much to so many families – it’s not just a place for children to blossom through play and friendship, it is a village to support parents and siblings as well. ACP has played a vital role in the lives of so many, please help us keep going. We are so grateful for any support you can give.
Background: We need to make the renovations to keep our childcare license. In the past, ACP was licensed through the state of Alaska, but we are now licensed through the Municipality of Anchorage. With the change, requirements became much more stringent. Last November, we invested over $12000 to bring our playground up to code. Now, in order to open in the fall, we are required to install additional restroom facilities and remove several walls to prevent blind spots. The work will cost $30,000. The folks at licensing and from FCC are working with us, but there is only so much they can do.
Our Role: ACP is a parent-run organization. While many preschools are places where parents drop off kids and leave, ACP is a place where parents can get involved in their children’s most formative learning experiences. It is a place where, through participating in the day-to-day life of the preschool, both children and parents learn new skills and form life-long friendships. It is a place to truly feel you belong. ACP also serves a major role in the community. We provide a high-quality, affordable foundation both for the leaders of tomorrow and for their family support system. You can find out more about ACP here.
The world has changed since the 1970s when the co-op first started. While many families had stay-at-home parents in the 70s, today it is becoming increasingly difficult for families to survive on only one income. With more parents needing to work and struggling to make ends meet, we have found there is a strong need in our community for a longer preschool day at a low cost. ACP provides that by allowing parents to exchange flexible volunteer time for part of their child’s tuition. The downside of our commitment to low-cost quality preschool, however, is that ACP does not have much funding left over for major renovations. If we don’t make the changes, we have the option of opening in the fall with only a 3-hour-per-day program, but given the needs of our community, we predict enrollment in such a program would be so low it would not even cover our rent. After 47 years, the doors of Anchorage Cooperative Preschool would close forever. Please help us make sure that doesn’t happen.
In addition to these renovations, we’ve also been told we must remove our outdoor play structure because it does not meet commercial play structure requirements. Any additional funding will go towards making our new outdoor play structure a magical place for the children.
Thank you so much for your time, for reading, and for even the smallest donation you can give.
Background: We need to make the renovations to keep our childcare license. In the past, ACP was licensed through the state of Alaska, but we are now licensed through the Municipality of Anchorage. With the change, requirements became much more stringent. Last November, we invested over $12000 to bring our playground up to code. Now, in order to open in the fall, we are required to install additional restroom facilities and remove several walls to prevent blind spots. The work will cost $30,000. The folks at licensing and from FCC are working with us, but there is only so much they can do.
Our Role: ACP is a parent-run organization. While many preschools are places where parents drop off kids and leave, ACP is a place where parents can get involved in their children’s most formative learning experiences. It is a place where, through participating in the day-to-day life of the preschool, both children and parents learn new skills and form life-long friendships. It is a place to truly feel you belong. ACP also serves a major role in the community. We provide a high-quality, affordable foundation both for the leaders of tomorrow and for their family support system. You can find out more about ACP here.
The world has changed since the 1970s when the co-op first started. While many families had stay-at-home parents in the 70s, today it is becoming increasingly difficult for families to survive on only one income. With more parents needing to work and struggling to make ends meet, we have found there is a strong need in our community for a longer preschool day at a low cost. ACP provides that by allowing parents to exchange flexible volunteer time for part of their child’s tuition. The downside of our commitment to low-cost quality preschool, however, is that ACP does not have much funding left over for major renovations. If we don’t make the changes, we have the option of opening in the fall with only a 3-hour-per-day program, but given the needs of our community, we predict enrollment in such a program would be so low it would not even cover our rent. After 47 years, the doors of Anchorage Cooperative Preschool would close forever. Please help us make sure that doesn’t happen.
In addition to these renovations, we’ve also been told we must remove our outdoor play structure because it does not meet commercial play structure requirements. Any additional funding will go towards making our new outdoor play structure a magical place for the children.
Thank you so much for your time, for reading, and for even the smallest donation you can give.
Organizer
Morgan Alverson
Organizer
Anchorage, AK
