Jeanne Atkinson Fund
Helping a Special Teacher Love Children Forever
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Virginia Beach preschool owner Jeanne Atkinson ended most conversations with her signature sign-off: “Love you forever!” It didn’t matter if she was talking with a 4-year-old child, a doting parent or her own family. Over 37 years the exuberant founder of Stratford
Preschool instilled a love of reading in thousands of children and eagerly shared her knowledge of kids with their parents.
“I can still picture Jeanne sitting on the floor with her
legs outstretched, reading with a child,” says Linda Huff, who now runs the preschool Atkinson founded. Atkinson died in 2010 at age 79 – four years after
retiring from Stratford. Her husband of 52 years searched for a year for the perfect way to allow Atkinson to forever love her region’s kids. He explored various charitable options, but none seemed exactly right. “Then I got your annual report on a Friday last
summer. I was skimming it when it struck me that the community foundation was the right place for Jeanne to have a legacy,” says Bob Atkinson, a retired accountant and Navy officer. Over the weekend he contacted his children and attorney to suggest creating a permanent fund at the Hampton Roads Community Foundation. He liked knowing the community foundation had helped start Smart Beginnings South Hampton Roads, which helps children get to kindergarten ready to succeed. Donations from the Atkinson family created a $25,000 permanent field-of-interest fund for early education. Every year the Jeanne Atkinson Fund will provide grants to area nonprofits helping young children get off to great starts in life.
“I like that the community foundation keeps dollars in the community,” says Liz Atkinson, Jeanne Atkinson’s daughter and a tax attorney with LeClair Ryan. “The foundation is efficient, and its grant process is impressive.” Jeanne Atkinson was a natural-born teacher from Wisconsin who taught all levels of school in several states.
Jeanne Atkinson’s passion was giving children a love of reading and learning.
By the time her two children were in preschool, Atkinson had discovered her passion – giving preschoolers tools for life success. She believed that everything good in life starts in pre-K. Atkinson was a creative problem-solver who could
help parents deal with toddlers as easily as college students. “Before there was Google there was Jeanne,” says Norfolk attorney Laurence Land, an Atkinson Fund donor whose four children attended Stratford. “You could ask Jeanne anything, and she would have a wise answer. Everyone loved Jeanne.”
The foundation has invested more than $8 million in Smart Beginnings South Hampton Roads, which positively impacts more than 9,000 area preschoolers. The Atkinson Fund will provide grants to strengthen early childhood education in our region.
hamptonr oadscf .org 37
IMPACT
Courtesy of Bob Atkinson
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