The first thousand days are critical to a child’s growth and development. That is where First Things First Porter County, an initiative started by Porter County Community Foundation (PCCF), comes in with building a network where families can get the support needed.
Around the end of its own first thousand days, First Things First had a big announcement to make. On Thursday, it was announced they had received a $5 million grant from the Lilly Endowment in Indianapolis.
“Last fall, we received a phone call from the Lilly Endowment, and they acknowledged the work that we've been doing,” said Dr. Mary Jane Eisenhauer, Executive Director at First Things First.
“They asked us if you had big dreams, and if we could invest in those, what would you do? Working with the endowment and thinking through those ideas knowing what we know about the community, we crafted a proposal.”
Eisenhauer and her team crafted that proposal which incorporated what the community could be with that money.
After about six months of planning and conversing with Lilly, First Things First submitted its proposal. The process culminated three weeks ago with one special call.
“We received a phone call from the team at Lilly Endowment, letting us know about the $5 million award,” said Eisenhauer. “This is going to transform our community, and we're excited to strengthen the ecosystem for our very young children and their families.”
Every day, five babies are born in Porter County. With the grant, First Things First will be better equipped to connect newborn parents to resources to help their child get started. Programs such as the birth to school initiatives and Help Me Grow Porter County will benefit from the support of the grant. Another big impact of the grant, First Things First will be able to grow its amazing team.
“The most important work a community can do is getting kids off to the very best start possible, and that starts before birth and supporting families,” said Bill Higbie, President and CEO of PCCF. “The community foundation recognizes how important those first three years of life are. We are just privileged to be part of promoting that good work and supporting it in every way possible.”
Higbie emphasizes it is all of our jobs to help get kids off to the best possible start. Healthcare workers, business owners, parents, and teachers—along with the rest of us—have the responsibility to help the next generation.
“This is huge,” said Rachel Stoner, an agricultural teacher at East Porter School Corporation and PCCF board member. “Research shows the first few years are really impactful on individuals' trajectories. To have our community pouring so much money into the first few years of someone's life is huge. I'm just so excited to be a part of it.”
Thanks to Lilly, First Things First will be awarding half of a million dollars for collaborative challenge grants to community organizations. These collaborative challenge grants will help First Things First develop partnerships and offer expanded services for infants and toddlers in Porter County.
“It's incredible to see this outpouring of commitment from the community around this,” said Eisenhauer. “Since we started people are recognizing the importance of quality early experiences. We're here to create that network and build our system of care and compassion and support.”
Thursday’s event and announcement showed what makes Porter County so special. There are organizations like First Thing First, PCCF, and so many others that make sure the residents of Porter County have the best possible standard of living.For more information about First Things First, please visit https://www.firstthingspc.org/. For more information about the PCCF, please visit https://www.pccf.gives/.
