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Category: Community

Corning Community Impact Continues to Invest in Family Home Child Car

Families First is grateful to receive an $8,000 grant from Corning Community Impact. This support will help strengthen Family Home Child Care providers in Cabarrus County and North Mecklenburg, including both licensed and licensed-exempt home-based child care providers.

This investment comes at an important time for children, families, and providers.

More families are turning to Family Home Child Care because it offers flexible, relationship-based care in trusted settings. These small businesses and home-based care environments provide care close to home, support working parents, and create nurturing places where children can thrive.

At the same time, providers are facing new state requirements, growing demands, and increasing pressure to remain open while continuing to meet the needs of families. Many are working hard to improve quality, meet updated standards, and sustain the programs their communities depend on.

Because of Corning’s support, Families First can continue walking alongside providers through coaching, technical assistance, training, and resources that help them navigate these changes with confidence.

Just as important, Corning Community Impact has continued to show up in person.

For the past three years, Corning volunteers have joined Families First in visiting licensed and licensed-exempt child care homes, helping deliver encouragement, resources, appreciation, and connection directly to providers.

These visits are more than deliveries.

They are a reminder to providers that their work is seen, their role is valued, and their impact matters.

Over the years, many providers have shared that they feel more visible and appreciated because partners

are showing up at their doors, recognizing the care, education, and stability they provide every day.

That kind of presence matters.

It helps providers feel connected to a larger community of support while reinforcing the importance of Family Home Child Care as an essential part of the early childhood system.

When Family Home Child Care providers succeed, children gain access to stable, high-quality care. Parents also have the support they need to work with confidence. As a result, our whole community becomes stronger.

We are thankful for Corning Community Impact’s continued partnership, investment, and volunteerism. Together, we are helping protect child care access, meet the right needs at the right time, and make a bigger statement about the importance of home-based child care providers in our community and beyond.

Thank you, Corning, for supporting children, families, and Family Home Child Care providers across our community. We look forward to another year of showing up together.

Corning Cares: Strengthening Family Childcare Through Partnership & Appreciation

Every other month, Families First in Cabarrus County joins forces with Corning, Inc. to make special deliveries to show our networks of child care providers appreciation for all they do to keep our communities going. From high-quality child care to supporting economic growth and stability, our local providers are making a huge impact on the communities they serve.

During these special deliveries, a team member from Families First and two members of the Corning team visit child care providers along one of three network routes to deliver swag, gifts, cleaning supplies, scholarship checks provided by Families First, and handwritten thank you notes created by Corning.

The Power of Being Seen: Elevating Family Home Childcare

The power of face-to-face contact lies in the largely unseen, yet beautiful, work carried out behind the closed doors of Family Home Childcares, where more than 67% of our children and future leaders are cared for every day in North Carolina.

This effort has empowered providers with a renewed sense of value, connection, and appreciation, reinforcing the importance of being seen, heard, and supported in their vital work of caring for children and families.

Impact on Providers: Support and Efficiency

Monthly network meetings, along with weekly liaison meetings with each network’s board chair and secretaries, enhance overall services and well-being by sharing business best practices, providing access to a coverage pool, reducing administrative burdens, helping with licensing, navigating increased capacity regulation changes, and promoting pay equity.

Impact on the Community: Economic Growth & Stability

This initiative strengthened both families and the local economy by addressing the childcare shortage, supporting non-traditional work hours, empowering new childcare businesses, meeting local business needs, attracting workers to major employers, and increasing licensed childcare spaces.

Impact on Families: Family Stability

Expands childcare options, guarantees access to high-quality care, and encourages consistent best practices to better support families.

» Click here to see how you can support our work at Families First in Cabarrus County!

 

St. James Lutheran Church Brings “God’s Work, Our Hands” Ministry to Bilingual Preschool

 

A huge thank you to St James Lutheran Church for bringing your ministry, “God’s Work, Our Hands,” to Cabarrus Bilingual Preschool at Central!

 

Their dedication to serving our community shines through the incredible work they have done—building a new ramp, rebuilding our garden wall, and revitalizing our butterfly gardens with fresh mulch.

 

We are deeply grateful for their support and commitment to creating a safe and beautiful space for our children to learn and grow. Their generosity makes a lasting impact on our preschool and community.

 

Thank you, St. James!

Filled with Gratitude During Elevation Love Week

During Elevation Love Week, Elevation volunteers donated carloads of book bags packed with supplies for our Preschools and ParentChild+ (PC+) families!

Pictured are Monica, a PC+ Early Learning Specialist, and Aurora, our Director of Operations.

We are so thankful for partners like Elevation Church – Concord, who help us strengthen, nurture, and empower whole families!

Building Community with Families First & Carefully

Sparking Joy, Adding Value, and Continually Learning

Two-thirds of the children in our county are not in any childcare, and parents struggle daily, lonely and isolated with no help. At the bilingual preschool at St. James and soon across all our locations and programs, parents are utilizing Carefully to experience a rare commodity these days: new friendships, positive interactions, and mutual respect and desire to provide a healthy community for their children.

Do you find yourself needing care for your children and cannot find it? Keep reading here: https://carefullyapp.com/blog/building-community-with-families-first/

Welcoming Back Teachers & Back to School Supply Drive!

First and foremost, we would like to welcome back all our outstanding teachers for this upcoming school year! Although summer is ending, we look forward to seeing all your bright faces as we transition back into the academic year. (Those not pictured- we see you!).

At our 5-star immersion preschools, we pride ourselves in providing a safe and conducive environment for all students to enhance readiness and success in life. Children are embarking upon new adventures in the world of learning at this age! With the help of our wonderful staff, we facilitate a unique approach where the “image of the child” is how we determine optimal lessons for development, honoring each child’s uniqueness and passions.

Thanks to our incredible teachers and their love for bettering education, our work is carried out through new and long-lasting connections with the children!

“Teaching kids to count is fine, but teaching them what counts is best” -Bob Talbert.

We wish our families, students, and staff a wonderful year. Let’s make this a positive and well-rewarding year for all!



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Families First Cabarrus County

Families First

985 Central Drive NW
Concord, North Carolina 28027

office@familiesfirstcc.org
704-786-5613

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