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Children First Blog
Read our most recent newsletter HERE!
June 1, 2020
June 2020 | Lisl Liang Jessica Rogers believes access to opportunity for all is the base for building a strong community.
This belief has transformed her passion for helping women, children, and families into a dynamic professional career focused on the well-being of humankind. As a mother, she raises her daughter the way that her own [...]
May 21, 2020
May 21, 2021 | Tampa As part of the agency’s efforts to address continued food insecurity amongst its families, local members of the community teamed up with Paradise Grill restaurant in Nokomis to bring chef-prepared meals to each of the children and families who attend Children First, Sarasota County’s exclusive provider of Head Start and [...]
May 13, 2020
May 13, 2020 | By Scene Children First announced that 330 members of our community came together to raise $85,010 during the 2020 Giving Challenge, hosted by the Community Foundation of Sarasota County. All giving is inclusive of a 1:1 match provided by the Patterson Foundation, and a $30,000 ‘match on top of the match’ [...]
May 6, 2020
May 6, 2020 Mark and Corey talk with Jack Baker, Families First Institute Manager at Children First, about his career and passion for early childhood development and how it led to his involvement in The Nurturing Father’s Program. They also discuss some important things to consider as a father while spending more time at home [...]
April 18, 2020
April 1, 2020
Thank you to all who voted for Children First in SRQ Magazine’s ‘Best of SRQ Local’ 2020 competition! Our agency was chosen as the Platinum winner in the ‘Best Children’s Nonprofit‘ category and as a Bronze winner in the ‘Best Nonprofit‘ category.
Children First also received a second platinum designation this month with the [...]
April 13, 2020
April 13, 2020 | by Philip Tavill Children First, the Head Start grantee for Sarasota County, believes it is vitally important that the 2020 Census is as accurate as possible.
Our mission is serving our community’s most economically vulnerable families with very young children, from pregnancy through age 5. We provide high-quality, early-childhood and development-programs and [...]
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Thanksgiving is the wonderful time of year when we reflect on all that we have to give thanks for. ![]()
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At Children First, there are many things we are thankful for: our children and families we serve, our committed staff, dedicated volunteers, and our amazing supporters just like you, who make each day possible.![]()
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From our family to yours, Happy Thanksgiving!![]()
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PS: If you're planning on doing any holiday shopping, please consider using Amazon Smile and selecting us as the recipient! smile.amazon.com/.../ref=smi_se_rspo_change_cycsc
As we continue sharing our gratitude this holiday week, we want to thank our USF College of Nursing interns who have spent the past 11 weeks helping our Comprehensive Services team, led by Health & Nutrition Manager Champaigne Spivey, MPH, CPH, and learning about important health and safety topics for children. ![]()
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Our incredible interns assisted with critical health exams for our children such as hearing, vision, and blood pressure screenings, and also spent time shadowing with our staff members as they learned about mental health, inclusion services, and nutrition education.![]()
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Thank you for your commitment to serving our children, families, and community!
We would like to give a special shoutout and BIG THANK YOU to Tanner's Turkeys and St. John's United Methodist Church for their incredible support of our children and families this holiday season!![]()
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Tanner's Turkeys and St. John's UMC each donated 50 fresh turkey meals for our families to enjoy with their loved ones, totaling 100 holiday meals. Thank you for your support of our children, families, and community!
We are so grateful to our incredible Vivacious Volunteers, who helped our Purple Crayon classroom create their very own turkey artwork, followed by a special "Turkey Trot" obstacle course! 🦃![]()
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This special group of volunteers was founded by the The Junior League of Sarasota Sustainers, led by Ollie Johnson. Thank you for your continued commitment to our children, families, and mission!
Nominations for Best of SRQ 2023 close TOMORROW at midnight! ![]()
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We are excited to share that there are FOUR categories where you can vote for Children First. Scan the QR code below or visit www.srqmagazine.com/2023/bestof... to nominate now!![]()
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Thank you for helping Children First continue to be our "best" each and every day!
May 26, 2018
Children First staff recently attended a two-day Health Care Institute (HCI) that was hosted by the UCLA Anderson School of Business and the National Center on Early Childhood Health and Wellness. HCI is designed to assist grantees in improving the health of their staff, families, and children, while strengthening the communities in which they work. Participation in [...]
July 18, 2018
Just in time for the HotelPlanner Sarasota Powerboat Grand Prix Festival Kickoff, Powerboat P1 CEO, Azam Rangoonwala and Scott Free Racing team member Kim Kildahl paid a special visit to some of our preschoolers! They read to the children and taught them about boats before heading outside to see Scott free Racing’s Boatfloater powerboat. This was [...]
October 8, 2018
As of mid-day on Monday, October 8 Sarasota County is NOT under a hurricane or tropical storm watch or warning.
Children First’s policy is to follow the Sarasota County School’s closure schedule.
If the Sarasota County Schools close, Children First closes all of its sites.
If there is localized flooding, Children First may close sites on a site [...]
March 7, 2019
Children First was honored to be recognized as the 2019 Nonprofit of the Year at the 14th annual WEDU Be More Awards. As recipient of the Be More Unstoppable Award, Children First was chosen from a field of the Tampa Bay area’s most esteemed organizations. WEDU notes that the award is the most coveted and [...]