Headstart Supercharged: Children First

The Organization Helping Children and Families in Sarasota County

By William Bradford Nichols | May 2021

Sixty years ago, women of the Junior League–then known as the Junior Welfare League—asked themselves an important question: How can we best help economically challenged families in the Sarasota community? 

The answer, they decided, was to provide care for young children, children who had not yet started school. This in turn would enable the children’s parents to return to work or school. From that original idea, Children First was born.  

Decades later, the fundamental mission of the organization remains: to help families thrive. Children First remains committed to serving pregnant mothers, children, and families  in difficult circumstances. They strengthen the quality of families’ lives through a comprehensive approach to development, education, health, and well-being. They do this with help from volunteers, supporters, and extensive community partnerships.

Today, true to their original purpose, the organization still offers Pre-K care. However, their service model has expanded. In 1994, Children First became the exclusive provider of Head Start in Sarasota County and in 1998 they were chosen to provide Early Head Start.

The organization currently offers early childhood education with infant programs that begin at 6 weeks of age. Each family is assigned a case manager who helps parents gain stability in housing, transportation, and vocation, as well as helping them gain access to training and schooling. In addition, classes are offered monthly on topics such as budgeting and parenting, providing the families with necessary life skills. 

Philip Tavill, CEO of Children First says what they are really doing is providing the parents with structure, encouragement, and linking them to the resources in their own communities. “That way they can be their child’s first teacher,” he says, “and it’s pretty great to see the progress so many of our families make, though they may be coming from very dire circumstances.”

Expanding Excellence

In February of 1996, when Philip Tavill was brought on as CEO, he had just completed a Master’s degree in social work and a Master’s in nonprofit management. Speaking of the events leading up to his working with Children First, Tavill describes them as “serendipitous,” stating that he had always wanted to work with children and families who were facing difficult and challenging situations.

“I’ll be honest,” he says, “I didn’t quite know what I was getting into.” He started with the organization the year after Children First received their first grant as part of the Head Start program. They were growing considerably at that time and, understandably, experiencing a lot of growing pains. In 2004, Children First grew again, when they merged with the Helen  R. Payne Day Nursery. This greatly expanded their facilities and the number of families and children that Children First are able to help. 

Since Tavill took the helm, Children First has been named a Head Start Program of Excellence four times. This is a title which only 9 out of the 1800 programs in the country have received. Of that 9, they are one of only two programs to hold that title 4 consecutive times. This is just one of the factors that has helped Children First continue to grow. Tavill credits his dedicated staff, volunteers, and Board of Directors  for the success Children First has experienced. 

Pandemic Challenges

Looking to the future, one of the main things that Children First and Tavill want to conquer is their waitlist. While the preschool waitlist of 3- to 5-year-old children is manageable, they often have over 150 applicants for the infants and toddlers program. 

Their goal is to serve every child living below the federal poverty level in Sarasota County. Since federal grants only account for about 60% of their funding, they also want to continue to grow their private philanthropy with an emphasis on endowment and planned giving. Private philanthropy is what Tavill believes will keep Children First stable in the years to come. It is the one thing that will help them to fulfill all the unmet needs in the community, regardless of what is happening in the world. 

“Think about the global pandemic,” says Tavill. “Who anticipated that 108 of our families would, within 30 days, lose their jobs? Or that another 67 families would have their hours greatly reduced?” In preparation for the pandemic, the Board of Directors and Tavill took it upon themselves to order 60 days worth of diapers, wipes, and infant formula. Through their foresight and with help from their community partners, Children First was able to provide drive thru pick-ups of food and baby supply packages for some of Sarasota County’s hardest-hit families. Tavill holds that this would not have been possible without the support of volunteers, private donations, and contributions. 

Tavill says that despite their difficult economic conditions and other circumstances, these families dream and aspire, like all of us do. They want better for their children. They want better for themselves. He says that when you provide a person a hand up—when you walk with a person who is coming from a hard situation—they will take the opportunity to be successful. He has seen this happen thousands of times over the last 25 years and likes to share this saying: “Many hands make light work of heavy lifting.”  

For Tavill, there are no words that are strong enough to explain how extraordinarily privileged he feels to be working with the volunteers, the volunteer Board of Directors , the staff, community partners, and donors who come together to help the families seeking assistance at Children First. “We’re all a part of a very important safety net,” he says. 

To that point, Tavill mentions how, during a committee meeting conducted via Zoom earlier that day, he was able to lead off with the story of two beautiful, seven-and-half week old, twin babies who had been helped days earlier as a direct result of the philanthropic spirit of the Sarasota County community. 

“And they’re spectacular,” Tavill says. “They’re just these beautiful little miracles waiting to happen. It is a remarkable thing and, thanks to the amazing people in this community, this is what we get to do every day.”

For more information visit www.childrenfirst.net.