In 2018, the Giving Challenge enabled Children First to provide the highest quality early childhood education and family strengthening services to more than 700 children and their families. Our children were able to grow and dream in a safe space, receive the education and care they needed to thrive, and get their tummies filled with healthy meals. Parents were able to continue their own education, find or sustain employment, and meet goals to set their family on a path to success as a whole unit.

The support of those who participated in the Giving Challenge impacted the most vulnerable children and families in our community – nearly all live in poverty, many are single parents, and some are even homeless. The families we serve are diverse, but they all have one thing in common: they are trying to provide a better life for their children.

One of the families your support impacted was Fatima Williams, a single mother to two bold and beautiful boys, Jaylon and Marion. When she came to Children First, she was desperate to find childcare that she could afford with a high-quality staff whom she could trust.

Children First empowered Fatima to break through barriers and provide herself and her family with an education. Jaylon and Marion are participants of RISE, a partnership between Children First and Take Stock in Children of Sarasota County that provides support to low-income families with students in grades K-5. Fatima is now a full-time teacher with Children First, having worked hard to earn her Child Development Associate and Florida Child Care Professional credentials. She plans to continue her career in early childhood education, and is eager to see the continued success of her sons, which she credits with their time at Children First, as they navigate through adolescence into adulthood.

“To me, commitment means to give your all and stay positive no matter what. Children First was the one to say, ‘You have potential; Your children have potential.’ They saw our potential and they made that commitment in all of us.”

The generosity of our community ensures parents like Fatima have the opportunities they need to be successful and their children, like Jaylon and Marion, receive the care and education they deserve. Your support helps make a brighter and better future possible.

Your belief in the success of our children and families means so much. We ask with grateful heart that you continue to invest in the potential of our children and families during the upcoming Giving Challenge. Your gift, up to $100, will be matched, meaning it will have double the impact on our community’s most vulnerable children and families.

When you support Children First, you support the potential that lives inside of every single one of us. And you bring that potential to the surface to be realized.

Visit https://givingpartnerchallenge.org/ starting April 28^th at noon until April 29^th at noon and be the one to help our children and families reach their full potential.