Goodyear preschool raises $5,000 for Make-A-Wish

The Learning Experience in Goodyear, Arizona, raised $5,000 in April through its annual Let’s Grant Wishes campaign for Make-A-Wish. The effort tied fundraising to classroom lessons on empathy, kindness and service while supporting children with critical illnesses.

Why it matters: - The campaign turned early childhood education into a real-world lesson in giving back. - The $5,000 raised will help Make-A-Wish grant wishes for children living with critical illnesses. - The program also reinforced The Learning Experience’s broader philanthropy curriculum on kindness, inclusion, generosity and community service.

What happened: - Preschoolers at The Learning Experience in Goodyear, Arizona, joined families and staff in the annual “Let’s Grant Wishes” fundraising campaign in April. - The campaign raised $5,000 for Make-A-Wish. - The effort was guided by center leaders Samantha Sherwood, Cynthia Gomez-Prophet and Alyssa Montgomery. - Philanthropic mascots “Grace the Greyhound” and “Charity Chihuahua” helped bring the campaign to life.

The details: - Children wrote encouraging letters to wish children. - Preschoolers took part in fundraising events. - Classroom activities focused on compassion and helping others. - The campaign extended learning beyond the classroom by connecting kindness and generosity to community service. - The Learning Experience’s proprietary philanthropy curriculum introduces children to age-appropriate lessons on kindness, inclusion, generosity and community service. - Since 2018, 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 six weeks to six years old. - The Learning Experience also operates Bubbles and Friends®, an educational media platform with original characters, music, video content and a companion app.

Between the lines: - The campaign doubles as a brand-wide culture-building exercise, linking classroom activities to a national nonprofit partnership. - The effort shows how preschool programs can use fundraising to teach empathy in ways that are concrete and age-appropriate. - The company’s long-running Make-A-Wish partnership suggests the campaign is designed as a recurring community platform, not a one-off event.

What’s next: - The Learning Experience is expected to continue its annual Make-A-Wish fundraising campaign at centers nationwide. - Children, families and staff will likely keep using the program as a hands-on model for service and philanthropy. - The company will continue expanding its preschool and early education footprint in the U.S. and U.K.

The bottom line: - The Goodyear preschool raised money for a national wish-granting charity while teaching children that helping others is part of learning.