Eastmark preschool raises $10,432 for Make-A-Wish

Preschoolers, families and staff at The Learning Experience in Mesa raised $10,432 in April through the annual Let’s Grant Wishes campaign for Make-A-Wish. The effort blended fundraising with classroom lessons on kindness, empathy and community service.

Why it matters: - The campaign turned early childhood education into a real-world lesson in generosity, showing preschoolers how community service can help children with critical illnesses. - The funds support Make-A-Wish’s work granting life-changing wishes for children living with critical illnesses. - The effort also reinforced The Learning Experience’s broader philanthropy curriculum, which is designed to teach kindness, inclusion and giving back.

What happened: - Preschoolers at The Learning Experience in Mesa, Arizona, took part in the center’s annual “Let’s Grant Wishes” campaign in April. - Preschoolers, families and staff raised $10,432 for Make-A-Wish during the monthlong effort. - Center leaders Yvonne Berkhoff, Lisa Duflo, Shayla Oliver and Amy Johnson guided the campaign. - The campaign used philanthropic mascots Grace the Greyhound and Charity Chihuahua to engage children.

The details: - Children wrote encouraging letters to wish children. - Preschoolers joined fundraising events tied to the campaign. - Classroom activities focused on compassion and helping others. - The Learning Experience said the campaign extends learning beyond the classroom through hands-on participation. - The company’s proprietary philanthropy curriculum introduces children to kindness, inclusion, generosity and community service through age-appropriate activities. - Since 2018, children, families and staff across The Learning Experience centers nationwide have raised more than $11.5 million for Make-A-Wish. - The Learning Experience has more than 480 centers open and more than 240 additional locations in development across the U.S. and U.K. - The company serves children from 6 weeks to 6 years old. - The Learning Experience uses its proprietary L.E.A.P. Curriculum to support cognitive, social and emotional development. - The company also extends learning through Bubbles and Friends, its educational media platform with original characters, music, video content and a companion app.

Between the lines: - The campaign is as much about building habits as raising money, using charitable work to teach empathy at an early age. - The nationwide fundraising total suggests the Make-A-Wish partnership has become a recurring part of The Learning Experience’s brand identity and community outreach. - The model gives the preschool a way to connect classroom learning with a visible local impact.

What's next: - The Learning Experience is likely to continue the annual Make-A-Wish campaign as part of its philanthropy program. - The company will keep promoting service-based activities as part of its early education model. - Additional centers across the chain may continue adding to the national fundraising total in future campaigns.

The bottom line: - A Mesa preschool raised more than $10,000 for Make-A-Wish while teaching children that philanthropy can start in the classroom.