To the editor:

The South Whidbey Parents’ Cooperative Preschool has been going strong on this Island for 41 years now, giving both parents and their preschool children a wonderful education in early childhood development.

I started in the preschool during its second year, and was there with my daughter, my son and then as a preschool teacher and later parent-advisor. I have friends, lifelong friends, whom I met in the co-op.

My daughter, Heather Dubendorf, joined the co-op when her children were preschoolers and now has her own friends, whom she met there, not to mention that her children who are now fourth and seventh-graders are still friends with their preschool buddies. Three generations of co-op preschool friendships. It is a wonderful place; it is not a place to drop off your child at a daycare, but a place where parents get involved and grow and learn along with their children through helping at the school, parent education meetings, babysitting tradeoffs, making lifelong friends with fellow parents and sharing child-raising experiences together.

It’s gone through many changes through the years (when I was in the preschool we carpooled our kids together) but still has the same philosophy: Parents growing and learning together beside their children.

The co-op is such a unique organization, and so important to our community. But now, just like a lot of other places in our society, it is having financial difficulty.

One of the things being done to help earn money to keep the co-op afloat for future preschoolers and their parents is a fundraiser benefit, being held at WCT on Jan. 30; two shows, one at 2 and one at 7:30 p.m.

I urge you to attend the show(s), and to spread the word that the co-op needs help. Hopefully, this letter will help, too. Thanks so much. The co-op is definitely worth saving.

Diane Fraser

Langley