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March 2016

Oakland families are talking, reading and singing!

In partnership with the the national Talking is Teaching: Talk Read Sing campaign, First 5 Alameda County has distributed nearly 7,000 tote bags to families with children ages birth to three over the last year.  The tote bags – available in English and Spanish – contain a book, CD, tips for supporting early literacy and a fun baby t-shirt, towel or blanket with prompts to encourage conversation.  

The campaign was made possible with the partnership of 40+ community organizations who engaged families in conversations about the importance of talking, reading and singing with children to support developing brains. Partners  distributed tote bags at parties, story time, pediatric visits, dental visits, church events and early childcare. UCSF Benioff Children's Hospital has been a particularly strong partner, using the materials  to help patients understand just how essential these activities are for healthy development. 

Additionally, First 5 organized a “Wash Time is Talk Time” event at an Oakland Laundromat in February 2016.  Families received tote bags and children were entertained with stories, songs and play. A second Laundromat event is planned for April 2016.

It was a fun and successful year working on the Talking is Teaching: Talk Read Sing campaign and with our partners Too Small Too Fail, the Kenneth Rainin Foundation and the Bay Area Council.  We look forward to incorporating important early literacy messages into our future work.

 Advocacy Day 2016

We’re getting geared up for the 2016 First 5 Association Advocacy Day!  On April 5^th, we’re headed to Sacramento with representatives from the other 57 county First 5s, to urge our representatives to prioritize young children in all policy decisions.

The 2016 Policy Agenda includes family strengthening, early identification and intervention, oral health, quality early learning and system sustainability. Armed with stories that illustrate our impact, like this one, we’ll be reminding our leaders not only how important early childhood is for the future success of our state, but what great work the First 5s are doing to support young children across California.

New data sheets detailing First 5 Strategies

We’re excited to share our new First 5 data sheets which detail program components, First 5’s budget, program reach, the results and what we’re envisioning for the future of our programs.

Take a look at them and tell us what you think!