Mission:
Provide children of local families in need (Morris and surrounding counties) with the foundation for a lifetime of successful learning by funding quality preschool education.
Vision:
Our vision is to ensure all local children have access to high quality preschool so they are prepared for a lifetime of learning. To do this, we will:
- Grow the number of students funded each year;
- Increase public awareness of our mission, the importance of a quality preschool education for our children, and the benefits preschool education delivers for our community as a whole;
- Serve as a resource for families as they seek out the best early education for their children;
- Strive to gain recognition with our community, potential donors and volunteers as a valued organization worthy of support;
- Create an innovative program model for preschool funding that can be replicated elsewhere;
- Track the success of our students over time to further prove the value of our mission.
Values:
- Providing access to early education levels the playing field and creates opportunity for all children to realize their potential, regardless of their financial circumstances.
- Investing in preschool is a highly efficient use of resources to build stronger, safer and more productive communities. We will ensure our resources are used efficiently to deliver the maximum benefit.
- We will be fair and compassionate in our evaluation of applicants and will adapt to changing economic and demographic environments to optimize how we execute our mission in the future.
- We will stay true to our Founders’ vision of creating “aha” moments for parents and students as they experience the dramatic impact of high quality preschool education.
History:
Founded in 1995 by Morristown residents Jill Lasser and Stuart Lasser, the organization was originally known as Project Acorn Inc. When the Lassers started looking for a preschool for their son, they realized that they wanted to share the advantage of preschool with other local children as well. We have now funded 600 children.