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Region Stories

These stories illustrate how early childhood programs and services funded by First Things First make a difference for young children and families in communities across Arizona.

Kerlissa Bitah

Kerlissa Bitah is Navajo Nation’s 2018 Champion for Young Children

  • champion

Kerlissa Bitah has been selected as the 2018 Navajo Nation First Things First Champion for Young Children.The award is given to local champions who actively…
Carolyn Shelley

Carolyn Shelley is Yavapai’s 2018 Champion for Young Children

  • champion

Caroyln Shelley has been selected as the 2018 First Things First Champion for Young Children in the Yavapai Region.The award is given to local champions who…
Mother with son

New Phoenix mom finds support to prepare her children to succeed in school

  • family support

​When Elizabeth Goings first moved to Phoenix with her husband, she did not have a lot of options for her young son, Joshua. With limited ability to speak…

College scholarship helps Pascua Yaqui teacher give her students a strong educational foundation

  • tribal

A​fter working for about a decade as an early childhood teacher at the Pascua Yaqui Head Start, Maria Jones had a decision to make.New regulations require…
Mom reading to daughter

Becoming kindergarten ready through pediatric care coordination in El Mirage

  • parenting education

You may look at Gianna Cota today and see that she is a self-assured, motivated first grader who loves math and science, meeting new friends and learning new…
navajo-family

Good oral health becomes family tradition for Heber family

  • oral health

For Tiffany Western and her five children, oral health has become a family tradition.First Things First funds the oral health program in the Navajo/Apache…

Four Peach Springs mothers, all sisters, find support for their young children through home…

  • family support

Rochelle Kennedy enrolled in the Maternal Child Health program two years ago when she was pregnant with her daughter, Mia. Kennedy learned so much from her…

Quality First program helps Whiteriver child with speech difficulties find her voice

  • Quality First

​Military families face many challenges. From moving to a new town every two to four years to adjusting to the deployment of a family member, military…
girls on playground

Quality First scholarship helps Tohono O’odham family

  • Quality First

Catherine Toro wanted her 2-year-old daughter Hailey to be somewhere that would help with her early childhood development.From the first day they visited…

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