Last week, team members from Wilde Wealth Management Group came together to support Child Crisis Arizona and its preschool program, sponsoring the student’s graduation through the donation of clothing as well as backpacks filled with school supplies to prepare the children for the kindergarten year ahead. Members of the firm were on hand to congratulate the children with roses and other goodies during the graduation ceremony and also sponsored lunch for the teachers to show their thanks for all of their hard work and dedication. This is Wilde Wealth’s third year sponsoring the event.
“Child Crisis Arizona’s preschool program helps children prepare for kindergarten while providing wraparound services for their low-income families to overcome economic inequities as they aim to break the cycle of generational poverty,” said Trevor Wilde, MBA, AIF, chief executive officer of Wilde Wealth, who also serves as a board member of Child Crisis Arizona. “We are honored to help celebrate these kids and their families.”
According to Child Crisis Arizona, the preschool program serves children ages 3 to 5 from families living at or below 200% of the federal poverty line. The program goal is to help children be kindergarten-ready; therefore, focusing heavily on literacy and STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, Math).
“Families in these programs are assigned a family support specialist who works with them to identify challenges and find resources to become stronger family units,” said Aaron Abney, senior program manager, Child Crisis Arizona preschool program. “Families in the preschool program work closely with a preschool operations coordinator who fills a similar role. As we work to eliminate the barriers these low-income families have to be successful, they are better able to support their child’s education.”
Using a sliding fee scale, families pay a monthly tuition of $10 to $40, based on their ability to pay. The fees are not meant to fund the program, but to develop a habit of setting aside money for educational expenses that will arise in elementary school and beyond. Enrollment applications are accepted in May and June, students begin their preschool classes in July, and those who are ready for kindergarten graduate from the program the following June.
“The preschool program follows the Teaching Strategies Creative Curriculum for Preschool, which is based on 38 objectives for development and learning. To enhance the acquisition of early literacy skills, an area of challenge for the children we serve, children experience special classrooms and play areas designed to have the children rotate through various activity centers, some based in the use of technology,” said Abney, adding that these special areas focus on literacy skills, such as identification of letters and sounds, and STEAM activities to focus on counting, grouping, and identification of values.
The preschool sponsorship and event are one of many that Wilde takes part in each year under its Wilde for Arizona Community Outreach Program.
“Through Wilde for Arizona, we empower our team to make a difference in our community through everything from the sponsorship of local sports teams to organizing fundraising events for nonprofits in need to simply donating to causes near and dear to the teams’ hearts,” said Wilde.
For more information on Child Crisis Arizona or its preschool program, visit childcrisisaz.org.
