First Things First Porter County (FTF) has awarded a total of $100,000 to ten community projects that will support prenatal – age three systems of care in Porter County. These Collaboration Challenge Grants are awarded to sets of partnering organizations who propose a project that will increase, improve or enhance programming and/or services for Porter County infants, toddlers and their families. Each project gained $10,000 to bolster their efforts.
Healthy Beginnings Porter County brings together Mental Health America of Northwest Indiana, Porter County Health Department, and the Porter County Fetal Infant Mortality Review team for a collaborative of early childhood professionals supporting families with children prenatal to age three through evidence-based and research informed service models that promote the optimal early development, learning and health of children.
Early Connections: Building Home-School Connections from Birth from Parents as Teachers Porter County and Portage Township Schools creates a program that promotes milestone development, early literacy and social emotional growth to start learning at home from birth.
Food is Health: Prenatal – Three is a new project from Powers Health and Valparaiso Family YMCA that creates a community food education and healthy cooking program targeted to the critical period of optimal prenatal and early childhood development in the welcoming YMCA doors with help of medical professionals.
Expanding Early Childhood Support through Duneland School and Kidworks Partnership enhances support and resources for families at Duneland School Corporation’s Early Learning HUB by using expert knowledge in childhood development and intervention strategies.
Building Strong Foundations - Prenatal Memberships delivered by Portage Township YMCA and Northshore Health Centers brings a 3-month prenatal membership to the YMCA that establishes a strong foundation for expectant parents, emphasizing well-being, building a community, and mental health.
Intensive Developmental Milestone Training Opportunities for Duneland Family YMCA Early Learning Center Teachers and Caregivers combines the efforts of Duneland Family YMCA and Jacob’s Ladder Pediatric Rehabilitation to provide elevated training to YMCA Early Learning staff in regards to developmental milestones and potential needs for early intervention.
Empowering Mothers: Awareness, Recovery, and Support Campaign from Three20 Recovery, Gabriel’s Horn, and Homes of Compassion (Bringing Children Hope) will launch an awareness campaign using Every Door Direct Mail to connect pregnant and new mothers with Recovery Coaches, while enhancing support through recovery coaches and collaborative partnerships.
Perinatal Mental Health: An Integrated Care Approach for Health Professionals, an idea from Porter-Starke Services, Inc. and Powers Health establishes a one-day conference for healthcare professionals, discussing Perinatal Mental Health and the most effective strategies to manage these conditions.
Discovery Forest unifies Kidworks LLC and Valpo Parks to build an inclusive, sensory-based naturalistic playground at Discovery Cottage to develop children’s creativity, motor skills, socialization, cognition, confidence, and mental health.
Early Childhood Environmental Education is a Powerful Tool to Help Children Grow, Learn and Develop brings together Dunes Learning Center, Duneland Family YMCA, and Duneland Early Learning HUB to make the benefits of nature-based learning available to more children.
In regards to this collaborative effort, Laura Green, Outreach Coordinator at FTF says, “it’s very powerful to see all of these different community organizations and providers come together and brainstorm how they can best serve families right here in Porter County.”
This year’s funding builds upon the 2023 inaugural Collaboration Challenge Grants, which awarded a total of $3,500 to seven projects. You can read about these at https://www.firstthingspc.org/blog/category/Collaboration+Challenge.
About First Things First Porter County
Because early childhood development affects every aspect of our community, the Porter County Community Foundation launched FTF in 2021 to strengthen, sustain and nurture partnerships to promote healthy beginnings, family support and quality early experiences. FTF catalyzes community partners to create a thriving ecosystem of care and support ensuring every baby born in Porter County has a strong start to life. FTF brings together organizations, providers and individuals across the county working to mitigate families' challenges when they welcome a baby home. For more information, please visit FirstThingsPC.org.
