Join Jay and Patty Baker in supporting education and the arts

By Ettie Zaklos, Preschool of the Arts Founder & Director

In June, we completed our 11th year of Preschool of the Arts with great fanfare: multiple end-of-year celebrations and a grand Pre-K graduation ceremony in Cambier Park. At our graduation, I was deeply humbled to share a very big announcement: Preschool of the Arts is expanding its campus with a brand-new 17,000-square-foot building!

Since its inception, Preschool of the Arts has been innovating, enhancing and broadening its program. We started as a fledgling preschool with a vision of an excellent early childhood education and my two daughters as the first students enrolled in the school. There was a dream of bringing together early childhood educators who are driven to give 100% of themselves, reach for greater heights and love and nurture confident and creative young learners.

And that dream became a reality with exponential growth. Community events are standing room only, our educational programs have reached maximum capacity and our award-winning preschool has long outgrown its building.

As we enter the second decade at POTA, some may see our long waiting lists as a sign of success. But, for us at POTA, having to deny children their essential education is not something we can abide. As we look to build tomorrow’s leaders, we are obligated to take a step forward and build something bigger and better.

For years, we have dreamt of expanding the campus in order to provide the POTA experience to many more deserving children. We have an ambitious plan to create a vibrant hub of learning and connection for our families and youth.

And, now, we are thrilled to introduce you to ‘The Big Build,’ a $6 million capital campaign that will expand our preschool’s footprint by 70%. The building will transform learning for our children with new classrooms, a children’s library, a STEM center and innovative communal spaces. We are building a space where children can learn, campers can play, teens can connect, and the community can gather and celebrate.

We are also getting a new name!

Our award-winning Preschool of the Arts will be renamed the “Jay and Patty Baker Preschool of the Arts” to honor two incredible philanthropists who are helping build today for the leaders of tomorrow. The Bakers have made a generous commitment of $2 million to our campaign — but there’s a twist! They are challenging us to raise another $2 million of our own before they complete their generous pledge.

This process will effectively double every dollar raised as we embark on the first stage of our campaign. We turn to our incredible Naples community to ask for your partnership to enable us to complete this major phase of our growth. Please consider donating today, so that we can continue to build the leaders of tomorrow. Go to www.NaplesBigBuild.com.

We really need your support!

I would like to personally thank Jay and Patty Baker for their incredible commitment to our school and their generosity, which will enable us to significantly expand programming and welcome hundreds more children through our doors. We could not be more humbled or honored to have our preschool forever connected to their incredible legacy.

We now get to the real hard work of meeting our capital campaign goals. Our fundraising goal is high, but we know that our Naples community is more than up for the challenge to make this happen for our children. If we all come together and put our heart into it, we can transform ‘The Big Build’ into a dynamic reality.

We cannot wait to get started and hope you will join us!