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TEP donation supercharging PEEPs preschool access
Arizona Daily Star | Tucson.com | October 15, 2026
United Way of Tucson and Southern Arizona received a $100,000 donation from Tucson Electric Power (TEP) today for Supercharging PEEPs, a community effort to build on the success of Pima County’s “Pima Early Education Program Scholarships” (PEEPs) and expand access to high-quality preschool education for more children and families.
The $100,000 investment, presented today at the United Way’s Tucson offices, is the first corporate contribution to emerge from Supercharging PEEPs, an effort to bring business, philanthropy, government, education and early childhood leaders together around a shared question on how Pima County can build on the success of PEEPs to ensure more children have access to high-quality preschools. Over the past year, community partners have participated in several convenings to better understand the current early childhood landscape, examine the gap between the number of children who need assistance and the resources currently available, and explore how public and private investments could work together to expand access.
Photo:
- Monica Brinkerhoff, AVP for Early Childhood Education, United Way of Tucson and Southern Arizona
- Supervisor Rex Scott, Pima County Board of Supervisors – District 1
- Vanecia Kerr, President and CEO, United Way of Tucson and Southern Arizona
- Susan Gray, CEO of TEP
- Supervisor Andrés Cano, Pima County Board of Supervisors – District 5
The Center for Economic Integrity and Southern Arizona Leadership Council launched the effort with community convenings in May and October 2025 and continued through additional conversations and a regional leadership roundtable. Partners have included United Way of Tucson and Southern Arizona, Pima County, The Preschool Promise, Education Forward Arizona and other organizations, along with leaders from the early childhood, business and philanthropic communities.
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Source: https://tucson.com/news/community/article_555c8c7c-14da-5d4b-90cb-c7a25eece76e.html
Related articles:
KOLD 13News on October 15, 2026 at:
https://www.kold.com/2026/10/16/tep-donates-100000-pima-early-education-program/
"TEP’s donation goes to the United Way of Tucson, which helps Pima County fundraise for PEEPS. TEP said the donation will take 13 students off the waitlist, about the size of a typical class."
AZPM | PBS | NPR on October 16, 2026 at:
"The Pima Early Education Programs Scholarships — better known as PEEPs — received its largest corporate sponsorship at the United Way of Tucson and Southern Arizona Thursday morning."