From Preschool Advantage:
Preschool Advantage, a Morristown-based non-profit organization, announces the appointment of Adrienne Kirby as president of the Board of Directors.
Kirby, a New Vernon resident, has been involved with Preschool Advantage for the last 10 years and has served on a number of committees as well as on the Board of Trustees.
She chaired the organization’s first ever Turning Leaves fundraising benefit event in 2011.
Kirby recalls how inspired she was by the organization and the impact it was having on the lives of 3- and 4-year-old children and their families in Morris County. A strong believer in the importance of preschool for all children, Kirby states: “Children who aren’t prepared struggle greatly to catch up later in school.”
“Statistics indicate children who attend preschool in the early years also make for better engaged, community minded adolescents!”
Kirby says that when she started volunteering at Preschool Advantage, “there were 1.5 employees, and a small, but focused group of volunteers working from a crowded, hot, three-story walkup building in Morristown.”
“But I liked that the volunteers rolled up their sleeves and made things happen. They were making connections with schools, reviewing applications and conducting small fundraisers.”
Kirby further explains, “The organization has really grown. We are now active in Somerset County, and have doubled the number of children placed in preschool since my initial days, and are looking at placing 100 children in the 2019-2020 school year.”
After a career in Human Resources at Chase Manhattan Bank, Kirby focused on raising her children, while serving on the Parent Association Board of Peck School and the Gill St. Bernard’s School Board.
She just stepped off a successful Capital Campaign for the Gill St. Bernard School. Local past leadership positions included the P.G. Chambers School, Morristown Medical Center, and the Church of Christ the King.
Kirby is a board member of the Garden Club of Morristown and enjoys the civic nature of her work, as well as the philanthropic goals of the NJ Committee of the Garden Club of America.
Kirby is a graduate of Fairfield University, where a Family Literacy program is endowed in her name to support low-income children. Along with her husband, Dillard, she has two adult children. In her spare time, she enjoys gardening, tennis, and travel.
Preschool Advantage is a nonprofit organization with the vision that all children should have access to high quality early education. Since its inception over 20 years ago, almost 1,500 tuitions have been paid, and it is the organization’s goal to fund 100 tuitions in the year 2019.
To learn more about Preschool Advantage call (973) 532-2501 or visit www.preschooladvantage.org.
