Success Stories

Since its inception, First 5 Orange County has made a lasting positive impact in Orange County, creating brighter futures and improving the well-being of young children and families.

Child Care Business Program

In partnership with Orange County Community Foundation’s Workforce Development Initiative, First 5 Orange County helped launch a child care business program with the Small Business Development Center, CIELO (Community for Innovation, Entrepreneurship, Leadership and Opportunities), Orange County Association for the Education of Young Children, Orange County Department of Education, and other partners.

In the program, future child care providers spend two months building their knowledge of business basics, early child development, and how to operate a child care program.

An estimated 400 additional child care slots could be created through this program.

Champions of Child Care

Orange County is facing a significant lack of child care for children in their first three years of life, and what is available is not considered affordable for most families. In 2022, First 5 OC launched the Child Care Task Force, a cross-sector group of parents, employers, city representatives, child care providers, legislators, and philanthropists working together to develop and implement local solutions to the child care crisis in Orange County.

We introduce our Champions of Child Care and sit down with Task Force members to learn more about their unique perspectives and connections to the cause.

Boys & Girls Clubs of Huntington Valley: Fulfilling Community Needs

Boys & Girls Clubs of Huntington Valley: Fulfilling Community Needs

Early in the pandemic, the Boys & Girls Clubs of Huntington Valley was the only Boys & Girls Club between Long Beach and the U.S.-Mexico border that was open, said CEO Tanya Hoxsie. They mostly were serving children of medical workers from nearby Hoag Hospital and Memorial Care. “It was tough, but we knew we needed to stay open,” Hoxsie said. The school age clubs and preschools both received CARES Act funding approved by the Orange County Board of Supervisors to help stay afloat during the pandemic. “Funding is always important for nonprofits but in 2020 it became critical for our survival,” Hoxsie said. “We were fighting to survive.”

read more
Boys & Girls Clubs of Huntington Valley: Fulfilling Community Needs

Boys & Girls Clubs of Huntington Valley: Fulfilling Community Needs

Early in the pandemic, the Boys & Girls Clubs of Huntington Valley was the only Boys & Girls Club between Long Beach and the U.S.-Mexico border that was open, said CEO Tanya Hoxsie. They mostly were serving children of medical workers from nearby Hoag Hospital and Memorial Care. “It was tough, but we knew we needed to stay open,” Hoxsie said. The school age clubs and preschools both received CARES Act funding approved by the Orange County Board of Supervisors to help stay afloat during the pandemic. “Funding is always important for nonprofits but in 2020 it became critical for our survival,” Hoxsie said. “We were fighting to survive.”

read more
Boys & Girls Clubs of Tustin: Persevering Through the Pandemic

Boys & Girls Clubs of Tustin: Persevering Through the Pandemic

The Boys and Girls Clubs of Tustin initially closed at the start of the pandemic, but since has safely opened at reduced capacity and increased hours to accommodate children who are enrolled in distance learning. “The impact to our revenue was huge,” CEO Jamie Serrano said. “The longer this goes on the further and further that deficit will stretch.” “Grants like this — it’s huge. Every single dollar of lifeline that comes through is huge for us and gives us the ability to stretch the pandemic a little further,” she said.

read more
The Youth Center: Keeping Kids on Track

The Youth Center: Keeping Kids on Track

The Youth Center provides child care services for families who live and work in the Los Alamitos area. This year has been the hardest in the nonprofit’s 68-year history.
With assistance from a CARES Act grant, The Youth Center is able to continue to serve children and families during the pandemic. The Center currently serves (as of January 2021) 1,000 children at three locations in Los Alamitos. The kids come from 26 different cities, though their parents either work or live in Los Alamitos. The Youth Center re-opened shortly after the shutdown in March to serve the children of first responders, medical staff, and other essential workers. The center was struggling to stay open and make ends meet — and continue their streak of never having declined a scholarship for a single child.

read more
Focus on Innovation: Paving a Pathway to Quality Dental Care

Focus on Innovation: Paving a Pathway to Quality Dental Care

In Orange County, preventable tooth decay is the most common chronic illness among young children. Even more alarming, the most recent statistics reveal that approximately one out of every 10 children in OC – or nearly 70,000 kids – ages 3 to 11 have never visited a dentist. To combat this growing crisis, First 5 Orange County mobilized to tackle the barriers that prevent children from accessing dental care, bringing together and coordinating community providers, championing an innovative model for delivering services, and finding additional revenue. A local provider that stepped up to help give a new generation of Orange County children access to critically-needed oral health care was Serve the People.

read more
Phillip’s Story: Finding His Voice

Phillip’s Story: Finding His Voice

When Phillip Ogedo went from a 2-year-old to an almost 3-year-old without speaking, his mother knew it was time to ask for help. A developmental screening from Family Support Network helped pave a path to get Phillip the support and speech therapy he needed to find his voice. Today, Phillip loves to talk. He loves to announce his full name to anyone who asks – there’s a joy in hearing him share those simple sentences.

read more
Lexi’s Story: A Critical Early ‘Learning Link’

Lexi’s Story: A Critical Early ‘Learning Link’

Shortly after turning 1, Lexi Lee enrolled in Learning Link at Lincoln Elementary School in Santa Ana. Her mother, Venus, intuitively understood the important benefits of helping her little girl acquire solid early-learning skills and habits. Now 2, Lexi has benefited tremendously from Learning Link’s creative and holistic curriculum — and so has her mother.

read more
A Nurturing Environment for All Children: Elisea’s Story

A Nurturing Environment for All Children: Elisea’s Story

Elisea has loved caring for children at her in-home early care and education program over the past 13 years, and continues to find new ways to help them thrive. She became involved with the Early Childhood Mental Health and Wellness Program as way to help some of her kids overcome behavioral challenges. Working alongside a mental health coach, she now has new strategies in place to support positive social and emotional development of each of her students.

read more
20th Anniversary Spotlight: Lina’s Story

20th Anniversary Spotlight: Lina’s Story

In 2003, Lina Lumme was scared, pregnant and alone. But she made a phone call from a number in the Yellow Pages and ended up finding the Precious Life Shelter in Los Alamitos, a residential shelter for homeless pregnant women. Thanks to the support and services from Precious Life, Lina was able to create a new life for herself and her daughter. She is now
the Executive Director at The Youth Center, married, mother of Cassandra, 15 and Daniel, 6, and she and her family continue to be a part of the Precious Life network.

read more
20th Anniversary Spotlight: Cristina’s Story

20th Anniversary Spotlight: Cristina’s Story

Cristina Flores minces no words: “I was pregnant and completely overwhelmed.” That was in 2009 when she was pregnant with her first baby. Thanks to the support she received from MOMS Orange County, including monthly home-visitation services, she now has two healthy, happy children – Allison, 8, and Richard, 6. Last year, more than 3,300 women, like Cristina, received needed support to ensure healthy pregnancies and early childhood health.

read more
20th Anniversary Spotlight: Jair’s Story

20th Anniversary Spotlight: Jair’s Story

When her son started missing some typical developmental milestones at an early age, Gabriela Velasco reached out for help. Without delay, Help Me Grow Orange County connected Gabriela and her son Jair to The Center for Autism & Neurodevelopmental Disorders. Jair, now 11, is high-functioning and happy, and nurtures dreams of becoming a scientist or game developer.

read more
Boys & Girls Clubs of Huntington Valley: Fulfilling Community Needs

Boys & Girls Clubs of Huntington Valley: Fulfilling Community Needs

Early in the pandemic, the Boys & Girls Clubs of Huntington Valley was the only Boys & Girls Club between Long Beach and the U.S.-Mexico border that was open, said CEO Tanya Hoxsie. They mostly were serving children of medical workers from nearby Hoag Hospital and Memorial Care. “It was tough, but we knew we needed to stay open,” Hoxsie said. The school age clubs and preschools both received CARES Act funding approved by the Orange County Board of Supervisors to help stay afloat during the pandemic. “Funding is always important for nonprofits but in 2020 it became critical for our survival,” Hoxsie said. “We were fighting to survive.”

read more
Boys & Girls Clubs of Tustin: Persevering Through the Pandemic

Boys & Girls Clubs of Tustin: Persevering Through the Pandemic

The Boys and Girls Clubs of Tustin initially closed at the start of the pandemic, but since has safely opened at reduced capacity and increased hours to accommodate children who are enrolled in distance learning. “The impact to our revenue was huge,” CEO Jamie Serrano said. “The longer this goes on the further and further that deficit will stretch.” “Grants like this — it’s huge. Every single dollar of lifeline that comes through is huge for us and gives us the ability to stretch the pandemic a little further,” she said.

read more
The Youth Center: Keeping Kids on Track

The Youth Center: Keeping Kids on Track

The Youth Center provides child care services for families who live and work in the Los Alamitos area. This year has been the hardest in the nonprofit’s 68-year history.
With assistance from a CARES Act grant, The Youth Center is able to continue to serve children and families during the pandemic. The Center currently serves (as of January 2021) 1,000 children at three locations in Los Alamitos. The kids come from 26 different cities, though their parents either work or live in Los Alamitos. The Youth Center re-opened shortly after the shutdown in March to serve the children of first responders, medical staff, and other essential workers. The center was struggling to stay open and make ends meet — and continue their streak of never having declined a scholarship for a single child.

read more
Focus on Innovation: Paving a Pathway to Quality Dental Care

Focus on Innovation: Paving a Pathway to Quality Dental Care

In Orange County, preventable tooth decay is the most common chronic illness among young children. Even more alarming, the most recent statistics reveal that approximately one out of every 10 children in OC – or nearly 70,000 kids – ages 3 to 11 have never visited a dentist. To combat this growing crisis, First 5 Orange County mobilized to tackle the barriers that prevent children from accessing dental care, bringing together and coordinating community providers, championing an innovative model for delivering services, and finding additional revenue. A local provider that stepped up to help give a new generation of Orange County children access to critically-needed oral health care was Serve the People.

read more
Phillip’s Story: Finding His Voice

Phillip’s Story: Finding His Voice

When Phillip Ogedo went from a 2-year-old to an almost 3-year-old without speaking, his mother knew it was time to ask for help. A developmental screening from Family Support Network helped pave a path to get Phillip the support and speech therapy he needed to find his voice. Today, Phillip loves to talk. He loves to announce his full name to anyone who asks – there’s a joy in hearing him share those simple sentences.

read more
Lexi’s Story: A Critical Early ‘Learning Link’

Lexi’s Story: A Critical Early ‘Learning Link’

Shortly after turning 1, Lexi Lee enrolled in Learning Link at Lincoln Elementary School in Santa Ana. Her mother, Venus, intuitively understood the important benefits of helping her little girl acquire solid early-learning skills and habits. Now 2, Lexi has benefited tremendously from Learning Link’s creative and holistic curriculum — and so has her mother.

read more
A Nurturing Environment for All Children: Elisea’s Story

A Nurturing Environment for All Children: Elisea’s Story

Elisea has loved caring for children at her in-home early care and education program over the past 13 years, and continues to find new ways to help them thrive. She became involved with the Early Childhood Mental Health and Wellness Program as way to help some of her kids overcome behavioral challenges. Working alongside a mental health coach, she now has new strategies in place to support positive social and emotional development of each of her students.

read more
20th Anniversary Spotlight: Lina’s Story

20th Anniversary Spotlight: Lina’s Story

In 2003, Lina Lumme was scared, pregnant and alone. But she made a phone call from a number in the Yellow Pages and ended up finding the Precious Life Shelter in Los Alamitos, a residential shelter for homeless pregnant women. Thanks to the support and services from Precious Life, Lina was able to create a new life for herself and her daughter. She is now
the Executive Director at The Youth Center, married, mother of Cassandra, 15 and Daniel, 6, and she and her family continue to be a part of the Precious Life network.

read more
20th Anniversary Spotlight: Cristina’s Story

20th Anniversary Spotlight: Cristina’s Story

Cristina Flores minces no words: “I was pregnant and completely overwhelmed.” That was in 2009 when she was pregnant with her first baby. Thanks to the support she received from MOMS Orange County, including monthly home-visitation services, she now has two healthy, happy children – Allison, 8, and Richard, 6. Last year, more than 3,300 women, like Cristina, received needed support to ensure healthy pregnancies and early childhood health.

read more