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Smiling baby along with text: milestone report

GROW WITH FTF

2024 begins with continued growth for First Things First Porter County.

In this issue, we highlight…

Help Me Grow Porter County: Opportunity Enterprises launches Resource Center for Expecting Mothers and Parents of Young Children.

Books Blocks, Balls Events: Porter County Public Library System hosts open play groups with a purpose.

ASQ Training: Equipping 25 providers in Porter County with this widely-adopted developmental screening tool

DID YOU KNOW?

IN THE LOOP

Help Me Grow Porter County is Ready for Your Call!

In partnership with First Things First Porter County and the Porter County Public Library System, Opportunity Enterprises (OE) has launched Help Me Grow Porter County, a centralized resource hub for expecting mothers and parents of children up to 3 years of age.

“Community members can begin using Help Me Grow’s services as soon as they find out they are pregnant, Family Resource Specialist Payton Summers said. Once connected, Help Me Grow will direct the caller to available resources and help make connections to community-based organizations that provide appropriate care up until a child is 3 years old.”

“We know this will strengthen the ecosystem of care and support for expecting and perinatal families, infants and toddlers as well as practitioners, providers and community members,” Dr. Mary Jane Eisenhauer said. “Help Me Grow Porter County is one more way that we can all work together to wrap our arms around the five babies born here every day.”

For more information, contact Help Me Grow Porter County at (219) 476-1904.

Seeds of Promise

Thanks to trusted community messengers like you spreading the word, our Seeds of Promise educational savings deposit program has seen tremendous growth! Because of this, even more Porter County babies born after January 1, 2023 and enrolled by their first birthday are receiving a $100 deposit invested into an account owned by the Porter County Community Foundation for educational expenses after high school.

Books, Blocks, Balls

Our newest initiative, Books, Blocks, Balls brings open play groups geared toward littles aged 0-3 and their grown-ups to Porter County Public Library System branches. These play groups, staffed by early childhood specialists, offer a chance for community members to learn more about their child’s development and how Help Me Grow Porter County can help serve their families.

1122 babies born jan-oct 2023. 153 babies enrolled. 11 hospitals. $15,300 invested. 9+ trusted messengers

Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library - Porter County

Since our county’s adoption of the program in late 2023, we currently have 2,633 Porter County children enrolled to receive a free book each month until they are 5 years old. If you have a kiddo aged 0-5, click here to sign them up! We are continuing to seek financial support for this program. Contact us to invest in our youngest readers.

First Things First Porter County Talking is Teaching Campaign

We surveyed our Talking is Teaching community partners to learn more about the ways they are engaging with Talking is Teaching materials. Here are statistics from our 2023 campaign:

handwritten font: scribbles first things first porter county blog

Read the latest from our blog to know what our friends are saying about the

importance of building a collaborative of community partners who are committed to

creating a rich system of care, support and services so that

every Porter County baby born is prepared for a strong start in life.

“The new app…will bring our Porter County community…parent-to-parent connections in straightforward yet impactful ways.”

Building Community Care Through a New Parenting App

By: Jill Stricker | Executive Director, Parents as Teachers Porter County

Read Now

BRAINWAVES

Let’s learn together! Here are some recommendations

from our team and the collaborative:

Overcoming Toxic Stress

Center on the Developing Child at Harvard University shares how toxic stress affects us and what we can do about it.

Watch and Learn

Stepping In Early

Ages & Stages Questionnaires provide families with information about their child’s development. Area providers are gaining knowledge of the tool, and your pediatrician may use it as well. ASQ has ideas about what to do with your child to encourage brain, language, motor, and social development.

Free Activities to Try!

Purposeful Reading

If you receive books from Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library, this companion Reading Guide for The Little Engine That Could will make your story-time experience all the more engaging!

Family Reading Guide

LINK & SYNC

Let’s link together and sync up! Here are some programs & events that are happening right now in the community. Click on an image to learn more.

collage of flyers announcing community events

April 16 - 8:00-9:00 am

Porter County Community Foundation

Talking is Teaching

Learning Begins at Birth Work Group

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1401 Calumet Avenue, Valparaiso, Indiana 46383 | 219.510.0383 | maryjane@firstthingspc.org

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