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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.

Resource center helps Phoenix mother prepare her daughter socially and academically for school

  • family support

​​​On most days, Gaby Acosta refills the snack machines throughout various schools in the Washington Elementary School District in Phoenix as part of her…

Support for Holbrook grandparents raising grandchildren

  • tribal

Cathy Grant’s grandson had a rough start in life.When he and his younger sister came to live with Grant, Jacob was almost 4. Yet, he had speech delays and…

Healthy Steps helps Joseph City preschooler find help to be successful in school

  • school readiness

​​Around the time that Sherri McCollan’s daughter Carmen turned 4 years old, she began to notice some changes in her daughter’s personality. McCollan…

Quality preschool ensures school readiness for Bullhead City siblings

  • Quality First

​​Cost and convenience are what first attracted Amanda Amann to Tiny T-Birds Early Childhood Center in Bullhead City, but the mother of two said it was the…

Home visitation services help Colorado City boy improve verbal skills to start kindergarten on…

  • family support

​​Without the support of home visitation services, Tiffanie Barlow’s son likely would not have started kindergarten on time.“He was two years old, and…

Home visits help Gila River teen parents keep toddler on track

  • parenting education

​​For Heidi Bruder, success comes in small doses. As the Teen Parent Case Manager for Gila River HealthCare, Bruder supports teen parents in the Gila River…

Quality First scholarship helps Miami boy prepare for kindergarten

  • Quality First

​​As a mother of three, Summer Hernandez understands the importance of a mom’s role in her children’s lives. Hernandez will be the first one, however,…

Globe sisters’ literacy skills developed through book program

  • school readiness

​​Sammi Jenkins signed up her two daughters for Dolly Parton’s Imagination book Library when her youngest daughter Casper was born.A Gila County…

Family resource center helps Tempe mom support daughter’s learning

  • family support

​​When Maricela Romero became a mother, she wanted her daughter Emily to have a better childhood experience than the one she remembered. But it wasn’t…

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