First 5 FUNdamentals

Early childhood support is the foundation of a healthy society.

Join us on Thursday, June 4 at Historic 1625 in Tacoma for Inspire Breakfast 2026, our annual gathering in support of children, families, and the programs and partnerships that make that foundation possible.

Register: tinyurl.com/InspireBreakfast 🎟

Unable to attend? Consider making a contribution: tinyurl.com/SupportF5F

We’re proud to share First 5 FUNdamentals’ first-ever Annual Report, including 2025 Impact Snapshots for Family Connects Pierce County, Pierce County Early Childhood Network, and Washington Communities for Children.

Together, these publications reflect a year of work strengthening the systems, relationships, and supports that children and families rely on every day across Washington.

We’re grateful to the many partners, providers, advocates, and public leaders who make this work possible.

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📚 '25 Annual Report & Impact Snapshots:
first5fundamentals.org/2025-annual-report

Today we’re sharing both gratitude and congratulations as we celebrate the impact of Kate Ginn, LICSW, and her nearly eight years with First 5 FUNdamentals. ✨

Kate has helped shape some of the most important supports for families with young children in Pierce County. During her time here, she played a key role in advancing collaborative solutions that strengthened the Diaper Bank Network, Family Resource Navigation, Family Connects, Baby Lounges, and other initiatives that help families access care, connection, and community when it matters most.

Kate brought deep professional expertise in social work and child welfare along with a steady commitment to partnership, equity, and collaboration with community. Her leadership helped ensure our work remains grounded in relationships and responsive to families’ needs.

While we are sad to see her leave First 5, we are thrilled that she will continue this work as Director of Resource Care at Amara. We look forward to continuing our partnership and know she will carry her passion for children and families into this next chapter.

Please join us in thanking Kate for her leadership, collaboration, and dedication to Pierce County families, and in wishing her the very best in what comes next. 💛

You can read Kate’s farewell letter here:
tinyurl.com/KateFarewellLetter

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Pierce County Early Childhood Network
Family Connects Pierce County

🎉 Big News for Pierce County Families!

We’re proud to share that Family Connects Pierce County, a program of First Five FUNdamentals, has been awarded a Perinatal Mental Health Access & Capacity Building grant from the Washington State Department of Health.

This investment will help sustain Baby Lounges and Group Peer Support gatherings such as Caminemos Juntos and Melanin & Milk. These are welcoming spaces for connection, education, screenings for birthing parents and infants, and help families find the resources and support that fit their needs.

Support in the earliest weeks matters. We’re grateful to continue strengthening perinatal mental health care for families.

When people have access to mental health support during pregnancy and after birth, families are healthier and lives are saved. To help make that support easier to access, we're awarding Perinatal Mental Health Access and Capacity Building grants to community organizations across the state.

Read the news release at https://heyor.ca/CtUVfm

Looking back on last week’s Advocacy Day and feeling grateful for the collective effort everyone put in to support the important work of Pierce County Early Childhood Network and Family Connects Pierce County. 👏🏽

If you’d like to take action in support of this work, visit pcecn.org/advocacy-2026.

Today, we were honored to receive a Community Impact Award from our partners at HopeSparks. 💛

This recognition celebrates the impact that comes from steady, values-aligned collaboration and the belief that supporting families is a shared responsibility.

We’re deeply grateful to be in partnership with HopeSparks and the many others committed to this work.

𝐓𝐨𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐫𝐨𝐰 𝐢𝐬 𝐀𝐝𝐯𝐨𝐜𝐚𝐜𝐲 𝐃𝐚𝐲. 𝐑𝐚𝐢𝐧 𝐨𝐫 𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐞, 𝐰𝐞’𝐫𝐞 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐰𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐮𝐩!

We’re heading to Olympia to protect essential services for families. We need to ensure proven, community-based systems like Pierce County Early Childhood Network and essential programs like Family Connects Pierce County continue to be supported.

Thank you to the legislators who continue to stand with families across Washington. We look forward to the conversations ahead.

🔗 𝐋𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐧 𝐌𝐨𝐫𝐞: pcecn.org/advocacy-2026

𝐘𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐠𝐢𝐟𝐭 𝐭𝐨𝐝𝐚𝐲 𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐬 𝐚 𝐫𝐢𝐩𝐩𝐥𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐚𝐛𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞.

💫 For every $100 donated, F5F staff will volunteer one hour in the community as part of our Abundance in Action give-back. 💛

✨ And as a tiny thank-you, the first 25 donors giving $100 or more will receive a crocheted Positive Potato — a little reminder that abundance takes root when we show up together. 🥔

𝐉𝐨𝐢𝐧 𝐮𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐠𝐢𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐠: tinyurl.com/F5FGiving