I am an only parent of an 11 year old girl.  We moved from California to Denver in March of this year to try and make a better life for ourselves.  My beautiful and talented daughter auditioned and was accepted into an amazing public art school, and I had decided to reinvent myself.  With the help of some friends we purchased a small pre-school in the Denver area, and very proudly went to work on the Monday after signing the papers  -  I was a small business owner!   

The day went well, and after closing and coming home to make dinner for my daughter, I received a telephone call from the center director to say I should come down immediately as the center was on fire!   I honestly thought it was some kind of sick joke, but sadly it was the truth.

I bundled my child into the car and dropped her off at a friend before rushing down to the center to find that the kitchen was literally incinerated, and that the water and smoke damage was so bad that the entire center was a loss.    My chance at reinventing myself had burned down the first day I owned it!

We reopened in a temporary location 24 hours later, and have since made 3 location moves in as many months in a desperate attempt to keep the school afloat.

Understandably, we lost quite a few families, but together with the wonderful staff, and some intensely loyal families who we appreciate beyond words,  we have managed to keep the school alive while we rebuild the center which has been at the cornerstone of the community for over 35 years, and is one of the few centers in the area who accept children with families who are struggling to make ends meet.

We desperately need a new playground for our pre-schoolers as the current one is very old and is no longer safe - this isn't something that is covered by insurance, but is crucial to the well being of the children.

Crowd funding is not something that sits easily with us, and we thought long and hard before doing this, but eventually decided that providing a fun and safe environment for the children was more important than our pride, so here goes!